WORK AND PENSIONS

Absent Parents: Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases under consideration by the Child Support Agency involve absent parents in (a) Scotland and (b) Perth and North Perthshire constituency.

Steve Webb: As of September 2012, there were 96,700 Child Support Agency live and assessed cases where the non-resident parent resides in Scotland and 1,660 where the non-resident parent resides in Perth and North Perthshire parliamentary constituency.

Employment and Support Allowance: Perth

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed employment and support allowance in Perth and North Perthshire constituency in each of the last three years.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many people claimed employment and support allowance in Perth and North Perthshire constituency can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Housing Benefit

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ability of the private rental market to accommodate people who leave the social rented sector due to their inability to meet increased costs as a consequence of the under-occupancy penalty in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Steve Webb: This information is not available.
	This measure is not about forcing people to move. We expect many households will prefer to remain where they are and find a way of making up the shortfall, in the same way that those living in the private rented sector in properties that are too large do.

Housing Benefit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of local authority tenants in England and Wales who will be affected by his proposed changes to housing benefit.

Steve Webb: DWP estimates that the number of social rented sector tenants (which includes both local authority and housing association tenants) in England and Wales that will be affected by the under-occupancy measure will be 580,000.

Housing Benefit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what transitional measures are in place to assist individuals likely to be adversely affected by proposed changes to rules on occupancy for housing benefit.

Steve Webb: The size criteria rules that apply in the private rented sector will be extended to those who are under-occupying in the social rented sector from 1 April 2013.
	These rules will apply to both new and existing housing benefit claimants from this date.
	An additional £30 million has been given to the discretionary housing payment fund to specifically help disabled people living in specially adapted accommodation and foster carers who have been affected by this measure.

Housing Benefit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are in place to assist cohabiting couples who are required to sleep in separate bedrooms and who may potentially be affected by the proposed under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: Cohabiting couples are not exempt from the under-occupancy charge, whether or not they sleep in the same bedroom.
	The discretionary housing payment scheme may be available to help people affected by this measure but this is dependent upon individual circumstances.

Housing Benefit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the costs to the public purse of tenants moving from social housing to private sector housing but who may still qualify for housing benefit.

Steve Webb: This information is not available.
	Taxpayers are currently paying for approaching a million spare bedrooms in the social housing sector while families are living in overcrowded conditions while waiting to be re-housed.
	The potential impacts on costs and savings of tenants leaving the property they are under-occupying are complex and subject to a great deal of uncertainty. They depend partly on the accommodation to which the tenant moves and the accommodation from which the new tenant taking up their property comes.
	This measure is not about forcing people to move. We expect many households will prefer to remain where they are and find a way of making up the shortfall, in the same way that those living in the private rented sector in properties that are too large do.
	There are a number of options available to people affected by this measure. For example, they could increase working hours, take in a lodger, or move to smaller accommodation in either the social or private sectors.
	It is however for individual claimants to determine the best approach for them.

Housing Benefit: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government about the advice that should be provided to households affected by the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty in the social rented sector in April 2013.

Steve Webb: Advice to individual claimants is the responsibility of local authorities who will deliver this measure. DWP issued national guidance on 3 July 2012:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a4-2012.pdf

Incapacity Benefit

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional support his Department provides for claimants of incapacity benefit.

Mark Hoban: We are currently reassessing (with very few exceptions) everyone on incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance (SDA) and income support (IS) (where this is paid because of an illness or disability) to see if they are ready and capable to work.
	Those claimants who, following assessment, are found not to be immediately ready for, and capable of, work will have their existing awards of IB terminated and transferred to employment and support allowance (ESA) instead. They will be informed if they have been placed in the work related activity group (WRAG) or the support group.
	Claimants in the WRAG may be required to attend work focused interviews and to undertake work related activities. Claimants in the support group do not have to undertake any work related activity but can volunteer for support if they wish.
	Where a claimant is found fit for work following assessment, claimants may be entitled to other benefits such as jobseeker's allowance, income support for other reasons or pension credit depending on their circumstances.
	The Work programme provides support to a wide range of claimants, including those receiving ESA and jobseeker's allowance.
	Those with greater disability related barriers to work may be referred to Work Choice, if mainstream support is not appropriate for them. Work Choice participants get consistent, quality support from providers based on their individual needs.

National Insurance Fund

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of any increase in the income of the national insurance fund as a result of the abolition of contracting out.

Steve Webb: Estimates of the amount of additional national insurance contributions associated with the proposed abolition of contracting out from the point of implementation of the single-tier pension are presented in the impact assessment accompanying “The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving”.
	The impact assessment was published on 18 January and is available on the internet at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/single-tier-pension-impact-assessment.pdf

New Enterprise Allowance: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber are in receipt of the new enterprise allowance.

Mark Hoban: In Brigg and Goole constituency, there were 60 NEA mentor starts and 30 weekly allowance starts over the period January 2011 to November 2012. In the Jobcentre Plus district of north east Yorkshire and the Humber, there were 1,630 mentor starts and 740 weekly allowance starts over the same period.
	The numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	These figures are based upon official Get Britain Working statistics available via the DWP website:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/pwp/pwp_gbw_feb13.pdf

Pension Credit

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the (a) annual amount of unclaimed pension credit and (b) number of pensioners failing to claim pension credit.

Steve Webb: The most recent estimates of take-up cover the period 2009-10. Figures for the number of pensioners entitled to but not receiving pension credit in Great Britain in 2009-10 are presented in the following table:
	
		
			  Range of entitled non-recipients (%) Caseload take-up ranges (%) Unclaimed expenditure (£ million) Expenditure take-up ranges (%) 
			 Caseload and expenditure take-up for pension credit, Great Britain, 2009-10 1,210 : 1,580 62 : 68 1,940 : 2,800 73 : 80 
		
	
	The ‘Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up’ report covers Great Britain for the financial year 2009-10. It provides caseload and expenditure estimates of take-up for income support and employment and support allowance (income-related), pension credit, housing benefit (including local housing allowance), council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-based). The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 10 June 2010. The figures are available online and can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb

Social Security Benefits: EU Countries

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what comparative assessment he has made of (a) levels of benefits and (b) qualifying thresholds to access benefits in other EU member states.

Mark Hoban: My Department frequently considers comparative levels of benefits and qualifying thresholds for access to benefits in the context of policy on the coordination of social security benefits in the EU, and in considering access to benefits for migrants.
	Levels and thresholds vary considerably across the EU. In the case of unemployment benefit, for example, entitlement can be based on contributions or periods of employment, ranging from four months to two years. Other benefits may be based on contributions, employment or residence. Levels of many benefits are difficult to compare, as they can be a fixed amount, or a percentage of previous earnings, leading to a particularly wide range of potential amounts. In addition, conditions of entitlement also differ.
	Information on benefit conditions and entitlements in the EU is collected by the Mutual Information System on Social Protection/Social Security (MISSOC) which has comparative tables:
	www.missoc.org
	A report by the European Commission
	http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/economic_paper/2012/pdf/ecb454_en.pdf
	published in 2012 concluded that all central and eastern European countries have less generous unemployment benefit systems than the EU average; Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Finland and the Netherlands appear to be relatively generous compared with the EU average, while in the UK, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Poland and Romania benefit conditions are relatively tight.

State Retirement Pensions

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of extending entitlement to the single-tier pension to existing pensioners at the date of its introduction; and how much would be saved in means-tested benefits as a result of such a policy.

Steve Webb: The single-tier pension will deliver a simple and fair state pension set above the basic level of means-tested support, providing clarity and confidence to better support saving for retirement. Providing this platform for saving also underpins automatic enrolment.
	Moreover, the reforms are designed to cost no more than the current system and are not about spending more money on future pensioners, but spending money more effectively to better support saving for retirement. As a consequence, some people will get more under the single-tier reforms than if the current system continued, and some less.
	The Department has estimated the annual cost of increasing the pensions of people who reach state pension age before the implementation of single-tier pension to the proposed single-tier level as being around £10 billion in the medium term. These costs are net of an associated reduction in expenditure on means-tested benefits of around £2 billion. Full details are available on the Department's website at
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2011/cost_140_a_week_state_pension.pdf
	Current pensioners remain a priority for Government and we have introduced the triple lock to ensure that the basic state Pension rises by at least 2.5% each year. Those who reach state pension age before the reforms are implemented will continue to receive their state pension in line with the existing rules.

State Retirement Pensions: Perth

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed the state pension in Perth and North Perthshire constituency in each of the last three years.

Steve Webb: Information on the numbers of people in receipt of state pension in Perth and North Perthshire constituency is available from 100% data and is published on the Department for Work and Pensions' website at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Vacancies: Advertising

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to prevent jobs that have already been filled being advertised on the Universal Jobmatch website;
	(2)  what checks Jobcentre Plus carries out to ensure that all jobs advertised on the Universal Jobmatch website are still available.

Mark Hoban: When a company posts a job in the Universal Jobmatch service an expiry date has to be set. The company can change the expiry date at any time or close the job earlier at their choice.
	DWP makes no additional checks to verify that jobs advertised are still available. However, any complaints raised about any jobs on the service are handled by DWP.

Work Capability Assessment

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve the accuracy of work capability assessments for people diagnosed with (a) HIV, (b) hepatitis C and (c) other fluctuating conditions.

Mark Hoban: We are taking a number of steps to improve the accuracy of the work capability assessments for people diagnosed with HIV, hepatitis C and other fluctuating conditions. Our main focus in this area is to improve the descriptors for people with mental, cognitive and intellectual functioning and fluctuating conditions.
	Following his second independent review in November 2011 Professor Harrington commissioned two groups of charities including the MS Society and the National AIDS Trust, to provide recommendations to refine descriptors respectively for (a) mental, cognitive and intellectual functioning and (b) fluctuating conditions.
	Each group provided recommendations for changes to the descriptors to Professor Harrington and since early summer 2012, the Department has worked extensively with the charities to agree a single assessment that combines recommendations from both the mental functioning and fluctuating conditions groups, and that the descriptors are suitable for testing. The ‘alternative' assessment was approved by the charities at the end of August 2012.
	Since then we have been working to put together an Evidence Based Review to test the alternative assessment, including developing the training necessary for the health care professionals conducting the alternative assessments; further work with the charities concerning the practicalities of the test, and the evaluation strategy.
	We intend to begin the testing phase of the Evidence Based Review in the spring with a final report published later in the year.

Work Capability Assessment

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to include a success fee as part of the work capability assessment contract in order to penalise the contract holder on occasions when a high number of decisions are overturned on appeal.

Mark Hoban: The objective of the assessment is to provide recommendations to DWP as to which group a claimant should be placed in.
	We closely monitor the quality of the assessment and there is a financial penalty build into the contract should standards fall below a certain level. There has been no need as yet to use this mechanism.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Brodie Clark

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in total as compensation to Mr Brodie Clark.

Mark Harper: The details of Mr Clark's settlement payment were given in the UK Border Agency annual report and accounts 2011-12, printed on 12 July 2012.

Food: Waste

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much surplus food was thrown away by her Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not contract directly for food supplies but procures catering services through wider facilities management (FM) or operational service contractors.
	The Home Office records its total waste as required for the annual Sustainable Development in Government Report, and is working to reduce its total waste. The Home Office does not record food waste as a separate waste stream; it does however have data relating to the total volume of food waste disposed of in its headquarters building at 2 Marsham street. The data includes waste from self-catering by staff and visitors as well as contractor catering.
	
		
			 Calendar year Food waste at Home Office HQ (Tonnes) 
			 2010 4.6 
			 2011 4.2 
			 2012 5.2

Ibrahim Magag

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 562, on Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, whether Ibrahim Magag was under surveillance at the time he absconded.

James Brokenshire: We do not comment on operational security matters.

Immigrants: Detainees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people detained for immigration purposes suffered from a mental illness in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Mark Harper: holding answer 12 February 2013
	The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be provided only by examination of individual records which would be at disproportionate cost. All centres provide primary health care facilities which are equivalent to those available in the community and have access to visiting specialists including psychiatric services.
	All detainees receive a health care screening, normally with a nurse, within two hours of arrival in an immigration removal centre. The screening includes an assessment of their physical and mental health, including whether they have been the victim of torture.
	Additionally, medical records for detainees are confidential and unavailable to the UK Border Agency.
	The only exception to this is where a medical practitioner believes a detainee's health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention. In such circumstances, he or she is required to inform the UK Border Agency.

Immigration Controls

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  on how many sponsor licence applications decisions are outstanding; and how many sponsor licence applications lodged before (a) January 2012, (b) March 2012, (c) June 2012, (d) July 2012, (e) August 2012 and (f) September 2012 are awaiting a decision;
	(2)  how many cases for sponsors licence applications are outstanding.

Mark Harper: holding answer 30 January 2013
	The number of sponsor licence applications awaiting a decision is 585. Of the applications that are awaiting a decision, there are none that were lodged before March 2012. A breakdown by the months specified is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: New sponsor licence applications awaiting a decision 
			 Applications received in month: Applications 
			 March 2012 — 
			 April 2012 20 
			 May 2012 15 
			 June 2012 20 
			 July 2012 25 
			 August 2012 30 
			 Notes: 1. All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to sponsorship licence applications from organisations. 3. Figures relate to applications pending a decision as of 28 January 2013.

Immigration Controls

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for sponsor licences have taken over six months to decide in the last 10 years.

Mark Harper: holding answer 30 January 2013
	The sponsor register opened on 29 February 2008, since that date 51,622 sponsor licence applications have been decided of which 1,543 applications took more than six months to decide (as at 28 January 2013). These applications were of a complex nature and required further investigation. This is internal management information. It is provisional and subject to change.

Immigration: Children

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 140W, on immigration: children, for what reasons her Department does not hold information on how many children living in the UK without immigration status were abandoned in the UK by their parents, by country of origin.

Mark Harper: holding answer 31 January 2013
	A child without immigration status is unlikely to have been previously encountered by the UK Border Agency. Therefore the UK Border Agency is not able to collect data on the number of children living in the UK without immigration status.
	When the UK Border Agency becomes aware of a child in this situation, steps will immediately be taken to address the child's immigration status and to refer the case to the relevant local authority to ensure that the child is safeguarded.

Ivory

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will undertake research with her African and EU counterparts on the links between serious organised crime and the sale of illegal ivory.

Jeremy Browne: The UK's law enforcement agencies are already working with partners from around the world to tackle the involvement of organised crime in the illegal trade in ivory.

Police: Private Sector

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of a requirement for private sector staff working for police forces to be licensed by the Security Industry Authority.

James Brokenshire: Persons who engage in licensable conduct when providing security services under contract, as defined in the Private Security Industry Act 2001, are required to be licensed by the Security Industry Authority. Whether these security services are provided to a police force has no bearing on this legal requirement.
	The Home Office has made no assessment at present of this legal requirement as it relates to security services provided to police forces.

Prostitution

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been confiscated by the police under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2009 from raids on brothels since that Act's implementation; and how much was (a) retained by the police, (b) retained by the Crown Prosecution Service and (c) made available to victims of trafficking.

Jeremy Browne: The United Kingdom does not have a Proceeds of Crime Act 2009.
	According to the Joint Asset Recovery Database, the total amount recorded as confiscated by the police relating to brothels, prostitution, pornography and pimps since the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is £12,182,255.
	Under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme, the amount returned to:
	(a) the police is £2,256,520.
	(b) the Crown Prosecution Service is £1,780,346.
	The amount made available to victims of trafficking is not recorded centrally.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regulations her Department has repealed in the last six months; and what the estimated cost-saving has been of each such repeal.

Mark Harper: The Department revoked three sets of regulations between 1 August 2012 and 31 January 2013. They are the Police (Performance) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2862), the Police (Performance and Conduct) (Amendment: Metropolitan Police) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/3027) and the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2864).
	The revocation of these regulations did not result in any quantifiable cost-saving.

UK Border Agency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials who were working for the UK Border Agency (UKBA) on 1 January 2010 are still working for the UKBA.

Mark Harper: The number of officials who were working for the UK Border Agency on 1 January 2010 and are still working for the UK Border Agency (UKBA) is: 10,205 headcount or 9,579 full-time equivalent (FTE) as at 31 December 2012.
	The figure above excludes any officials who were working for Border Force and those who may have transferred to Border Force, which was part of UK Border Agency on 1 March 2011 and is now part of the main Home Office.
	The number also excludes personnel working for the UK Border Agency as locally engaged staff and UK based staff posted overseas because their records are held on a database owned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. That would have required manual examination of records, and/or extraction of data from Foreign and Commonwealth Office systems at disproportionate cost.

Work Permits

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average wait is for Romanian and Bulgarian nationals to receive work permits as of January 2013.

Mark Harper: holding answer 31 January 2013
	The latest period for which figures are available is July to September 2012. The average time taken to process decided Romanian and Bulgarian worker card applications in this period was 66 calendar days.
	(1) The figure quoted has been derived from management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.
	(2) Figure relates to main applicants only.
	(3) Figure relates to applications despatched in the period from 1 July to 30 September 2012.
	(4) Processing time based on average number of calendar days between application raised (received) and despatch date.

PRIME MINISTER

David Ord

Wayne David: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  when he last met David Ord; and whether proposals for a Severn barrage were discussed in that meeting;
	(2)  what (a) meetings, (b) correspondence and (c) emails he has had with Bristol Port since January 2012.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the list of official meetings by Ministers with external organisations which can be found on the Cabinet Office website. It is a matter of public record that I have met Mr Ord in my capacity as leader of the Conservative party.

Food Banks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 900, whether he has since visited his local food bank.

David Cameron: I visited a local food bank on 9 February 2013 and will visit another food bank in the near future.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have lasted for (a) up to six, (b) six to 12 and (c) over 12 months.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows apprenticeship achievements (adjusted) by duration for the 2011-12 academic year, the latest year for which full year data are available.
	Care should be taken when interpreting apprenticeship durations as they are dependent on the mix of apprenticeship levels and frameworks, and the prior attainment of learners (some will already have completed parts of the apprenticeship). The adjusted measure is intended to exclude those apprentices with some prior attainment.
	From August 2012, Ministers have decided that an apprenticeship must last at least 12 months for under 19s and for adults as well unless prior learning is recorded and funding reduced accordingly. This is to ensure that every apprenticeship involves sufficient new learning and opportunities to embed new skills.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship achievements (adjusted) by duration, 2011/12 
			 Number of months Achievements (adjusted) 
			 Up to 6 months 25,310 
			 6 to 12 months 109,390 
			 Over 12 months 93,010 
			 Total 227,700 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, except for the total, which is rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Apprenticeship achievements by duration (adjusted) are based on the actual end date of the apprenticeship as recorded in the ILR; it only includes those achievements within the academic year that were fully funded. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship programme starts by (a) 16 to 18-year-olds, (b) 19 to 24-year-olds and (c) 25-year-olds and above there were in each parliamentary constituency in England in the academic year (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by parliamentary constituency and age are published in a Supplementary Table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EAD8024F-3019-4D5C-A6EC-B6241B089862/0/January2013_ApprenticeshipStartsbyGeographyLevelAge.xls
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/

Apprentices: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have been created in each month since May 2010 in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley local education authority and (c) South Yorkshire for people aged (i) between 16 and 24, (ii) between 25 and 49 and (iii) over 50.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows apprenticeship programme starts in Barnsley Central constituency, Barnsley local education authority and Yorkshire and the Humber region by age and quarter for 2009/10 to 2011/12 academic years, the latest year for which final data is available.
	We publish apprenticeship starts at the quarterly level, therefore data for each month is not presented.
	We publish apprenticeship data at the region, local education authority and parliamentary constituency levels of geography, therefore data for South Yorkshire are not presented.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by geography, age and quarter, 2009/10 to 2011/12 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			  Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 
			 Barnsley Central constituency          
			 16-24 150 240 110 120 150 280 130 130 180 
			 25-49 30 70 90 110 120 150 120 130 130 
			 50+ — 10 10 20 20 20 20 20 20 
			 All age 180 320 210 250 280 440 270 280 320 
			           
			 Barnsley local education authority          
			 16-24 380 650 310 310 390 700 310 380 460 
			 25-49 90 160 230 270 310 360 330 340 340 
			 50+ 10 30 40 50 50 60 50 60 50 
			 All age 480 840 570 630 750 1,130 700 780 860 
			           
			 Yorkshire and the Humber region          
			 16-24 6,820 11,880 5,980 7,510 8,270 13,950 6,610 8,640 8,420 
			 25-49 1,400 3,080 4,030 5,340 6,220 5,700 4,970 5,500 6,510 
			 50+ 170 520 850 1,020 1,120 1,020 870 930 1,080 
			 All age 8,390 15,480 10,850 13,870 15,610 20,670 12,460 15,070 16,000 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10."—" indicates a base value of less than 5. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. A small number of learners aged under 16 are included in the 16-24 age category. 3. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 4. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 5. Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately 2%. More information on the Single ILR is available at: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C05DCDD5-67EE-4AD0-88B9-BEBC8F7F3300/0/SILR_Effects_SFR_Learners_June12.pdf Source: Individualised Learner Record.

Business: Franchises

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking (a) to recognise the risks involved in taking on a business franchise and (b) to ensure that business franchises are protected from unscrupulous franchisors.

Michael Fallon: It is important that all those going into business think carefully about the legal form they take, such as whether to trade as a limited liability company, sole trader or partnership, and the business opportunities presented to them. Taking on a franchise as a type of business can offer both advantages and disadvantages for franchisees and it is particularly important that would-be franchisees think very carefully about the proposition being offered, the commitment required and the risks involved.
	Although no specific provision is made for franchisees, current business regulations, and voluntary codes of practice, offer a variety of protections to both franchisee and franchisor. The British Franchise Association (BFA) provides a range of advice on franchising at its web-site
	http://www.thebfa.org
	and trade associations such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
	http://www.fsb.org.uk/
	may be able to assist the small business/franchise owner.
	Franchising is an important contributor to the UK economy with some 600,000 people employed in the industry, generating an estimated annual turnover of some £13.4 billion. As a business format, a new franchisee is six to seven times more likely to succeed than a non-franchise start-up and profitability rates have remained consistent, at around 90%, throughout the recession.
	Buying a franchise and entering into a franchise agreement is a business undertaking and it is important that it is seen as such and that independent advice is sought if that seems necessary. The BFA recommends that anyone considering a franchise should carry out full due diligence before signing any agreement and the services of an accredited franchise solicitor should be used to review the franchise agreement. A number of expert advisors and franchise companies choose to be judged by the BFA standards, which have the European Code of Ethics for Franchising as their foundation. Only those that can successfully reach the BFA's standards can be recognised by the BFA, which acts as an additional guidance for potential franchisees.
	In addition to advice from the BFA and trade associations such as the FSB, the Business Link helpline provides a quick response service to people and businesses based in England with simple questions about starting or running a business. It also provides a more in-depth service for those with more complex inquiries. Its website is
	https://www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline
	and the telephone helpline is on 0845 600 9006, available Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm. In Scotland the contact is Business Gateway at
	http://www.business.scotland.gov.uk

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the comments by Professor Ian Hargreaves on the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 in his publication “Digital Opportunity: a review of intellectual property and growth”, whether he has received representations from Professor Hargreaves on this matter.

Jo Swinson: The Government have not received representations from Professor Hargreaves on the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times he has met officials at the Intellectual Property Office to discuss the Government's consultation on copyright and modernising copyright in the last six months.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Viscount Younger of Leckie, have regular meetings with officials at the Intellectual Property Office to discuss all matters related to IP policy. This has included discussions on the Government's response to the Hargreaves review, the subsequent copyright consultation and copyright reform more generally.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any interested party has indicated that it will pursue legal action against the Government if it does not repeal section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: No such notification has been received.

Employment: Females

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of women in the workplace.

Jo Swinson: The Government are committed to building a stronger and more inclusive economy which draws on the talents of both women and men. BIS is playing a central role in helping women to enter, remain and progress in the workplace.
	The new system of shared parental leave will support women's participation in the workforce by giving parents the choice of equal access to paid parental leave in the first year of their child's life. The changes will encourage both parents to take an active caring role, and help both parents retain their attachment to the workplace by allowing them to agree a pattern of leave that works for them and their employers. Changing the behaviour of employers and employees will ensure that there is no longer an expectation that only mothers can care for the baby when born.
	The National Careers Service offers independent, impartial, professional advice and guidance to encourage individuals to consider the full range of opportunities open to them. In depth, face-to-face guidance is targeted on those who need it most, including women returners.
	We are extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, which will benefit all individuals who need to create a better balance between their personal and work life. BIS is also working to encourage cultural change, especially to encourage employers to think about the business benefits of flexible working when they recruit new employees. An employer group led by Working Families will make practical recommendations to business on how flexible working can be beneficial and how it can be built into employers' recruitment practices.
	We are committed to seeing more women on the boards of the UK's top companies, as well-balanced boards bring fresh perspectives, talent, new ideas and broader experience which leads to better decision-making and higher productivity. The UK has taken a voluntary business-led approach which will deliver sustainable long-term change. Results are already being seen: in the past two and a half years the number of FTSE 100 all-male boards has fallen to seven, from a starting point of 21. On 29 January the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) wrote to the boards of the remaining seven, outlining the benefits of diversity in the boardroom and reminding them of Lord Davies' recommendation of aiming for a minimum 25% female representation on their boards by 2015.
	The Department contributes to the work of the Women's Business Council, which was set up to make recommendations on how Government, business and others could maximise women's contribution to economic growth and improve the business environment for women, to maximise profit and success. We also support the “Think, Act, Report” initiative (bit.ly/UECXVK), launched in September 2011 to improve transparency and help companies think about gender equality in their workforces, on key issues such as recruitment, retention, promotion and pay.
	These and a range of other Government measures, such as incentivising work by raising the tax threshold so that low-paid women pay less tax, have contributed to the fact that the number of women in work is higher than at any time in UK history.

Insolvency Service: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what future plans his Department has for the Insolvency Service office in Liverpool.

Jo Swinson: The Insolvency Service has experienced considerable instability in recent years, the root cause having been changes in demand for its largest area of work, bankruptcies and company liquidations. Difficult decisions will need to be taken about jobs, given the fall in demand, and there needs to be a reduction of overhead costs to put the service onto a more sustainable financial footing. This will include decisions on the service's estate, which is now considerably larger than required for the number of staff needed going forward. These decisions will align with the service's business strategy and reflect its need to reduce its current estate footprint by about a third.
	The service will be carrying out a phased review of all individual locations, often, but not always in line with lease breaks and ends. The strategic preference will be to merge neighbouring sites where practicable to benefit from economies of scale, to enable more effective management and to enhance development opportunities for individuals. The service's Liverpool office will be included in the early stages of this review, as the current Liverpool office has a lease break coming up this year.

Intellectual Property

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with HM Treasury with regards to the effect of intellectual property reform on the creative industries.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), engages with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a broad range of issues across the BIS policy portfolio. Officials working on intellectual property (IP) have regular discussions with HM Treasury on IP and related policy issues and these discussions inform advice to both BIS and HMT Ministers.

Intellectual Property

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the potential effect of intellectual property reform on the creative industries.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), engages with the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on a broad range of issues across the BIS policy portfolio. Officials working on intellectual property have regular discussions with the Cabinet Office on intellectual property providing advice to Ministers accordingly.

Marketing

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of brands to the UK economy.

Jo Swinson: Brands are valuable both domestically and in the export market. They can help develop strong companies, which in turn will contribute to a strong UK economy, providing jobs and growth. Research by the Westminster Business School estimated that £16 billion was invested in brand development in the UK in 2006. Further, research published by the UK Intellectual Property Office in 2011 suggests that companies that regularly register trade marks, important components of branding, experience more growth, create more jobs and pay higher wages.

Medicine: Research

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in his Department have responsibility for (a) life sciences and (b) the pharmaceutical industry.

David Willetts: The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) is the lead team within BIS for pharmaceuticals and life sciences industries. It currently has 14.1 permanent FTE members of staff. Funding for research in life sciences and related areas is provided from BIS Science and Research funding through the Research Base with 3.4 FTE equivalent staff specific for life sciences research policy and sponsorship. Other parts of BIS are also actively engaged in life sciences work although it is difficult to quantify this engagement in terms of staff time.
	In addition there are a number of other BIS organisations involved in life sciences including UK Trade and Investment, Research Councils and the Technology Strategy Board.

Regional Growth Fund: North East

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the Regional Growth Fund on job creation in (a) Northumberland and (b) the North East.

Michael Fallon: From the first three Regional Growth Fund (RGF) bidding rounds, 108 conditional awards of a total of £337.4 million have been made to businesses and public/private partnerships in the North East. Of these, 62 awards totalling £109.1 million have been finalised to date. So far businesses and partnerships have drawn down £27.3 million. (RGF payments are normally made in arrears of private sector investment.)
	Monitoring reports indicate that a total of 3,844 gross jobs have been created or safeguarded in the North East as a result of RGF awards that have been finalised.
	For Northumberland, there have been 13 awards for a total of £36.7 million, of which eight awards totalling £8.5 million have been finalised. Five of these have started to draw down funds, and £1 million has been paid to date. Monitoring reports indicate that a total of 134 gross jobs have been created or safeguarded in Northumberland as a result of RGF awards that have been finalised.

Royal Mail

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom about Royal Mail's universal service obligation.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has a regular dialogue with Ofcom on a wide range of issues concerning the postal services market.
	Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Parliament established Ofcom as an independent regulator for postal services, and gave the regulator the primary duty to secure the provision of the universal service.
	All discussions between BIS and Ofcom are therefore held in this context.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses that convert vehicles to run on LPG have been operational in the UK in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Transport.
	I am advised that the Government does not collect business information to that level of detail.

TREASURY

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury's core statutory obligations are to ensure that public sector net borrowing and debt are reduced between 2011 and 2016 in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2010; to monitor and updating the Charter for Budget Responsibility under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011; to report to Parliament where required under various statutes authorising specific government spending (for example the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012). In addition to these the Treasury has miscellaneous statutory obligations under legislation governing financial services, financial sanctions and Government finances.
	The Treasury's accounting system does not hold financial data by statutory obligation and such information could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold. Information on outturn and spending plans for the Treasury are shown in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2011-12 (HC 46) and the Business Plan for the period 2012-15, both of which are available at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	The 2012-13 Annual Report and Accounts will be published later in the year.

Developing Countries: Multinational Companies

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what specific proposals his Department will recommend to the G8 to tackle tax avoidance by multinational companies operating in developing countries.

David Gauke: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the response given by the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), to his question 143419, answered on 14 February 2013 and wish to add that the G8 agenda is still being finalised. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister has publicly declared that the UK's G8 presidency will focus on strengthening international tax standards, and working with developing countries to enable them to collect tax that is due to them.

EU External Trade

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of potential legal action from third parties against Government policy under any Investor State Dispute Settlement clauses that are included in future EU trade agreements; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The EU has not yet concluded any agreements with Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses. Potential costs to the UK from any third party claims under new EU agreements cannot easily be estimated: they will depend on the party with which the agreement is signed, the specific detail of the ISDS clauses in that agreement and the nature of future Government policy towards investors. The UK Government are, however, mindful of the risks associated with ISDS clauses. We are pushing for agreements that strike the right balance between protecting EU-based businesses' investments abroad and protecting Governments' right to regulate in the public interest.

Floods: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional funding has been given to Wales as a result of the flooding that occurred in 2012; and how this money has been allocated.

Danny Alexander: At the autumn statement 2012, the Government announced plans to increase investment in flood defences by £120 million over the remainder of this spending review period. As a result the Welsh Government received £7 million in Barnett consequentials. The allocation of this funding is a matter for the Welsh Government.

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mean average spend using a Government Procurement Card was per member of staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm's length bodies in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Sajid Javid: The following table provides details of the average spend on a Government Procurement Card per member of staff within HM Treasury and each of its arm’s length bodies from April 2009 to date.
	
		
			 Average spend on government procurement card per member of staff 
			 £ 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(1) 
			 HMT 1,600 1,041 680 512 
			 Debt Management Office 2,454 2,537 1,853 1,334 
			 Asset Protection Agency — 406 1,520 (2)798 
			 UK Financial Investments 1,297 575 947 350 
			 Office for Budget Responsibility — — 5 91 
			 (1) To January 2013. (2 )Note that the APA closed on 31 October 2012.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many regulations his Department has repealed in the last six months; and what the estimated cost-saving has been of each such repeal.

Sajid Javid: Since the One In One Out system has been in operation the Treasury has saved business £30.05 million per annum in regulatory costs, within the scope of the policy. Statements of the Treasury's regulatory and deregulatory measures, within the scope of One In One Out, are published every six months on our website. These statements can be found here:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about_new_regulations.htm
	The Treasury has repealed the following regulatory pieces of legislation between 1 August 2012 and 4 February 2013:
	The Community Emissions Trading Scheme (Allocation of Allowances for Payment) Regulations 2008;
	Syria (European Union Financial Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations 2012;
	The Belarus (Asset-Freezing) Regulations 2012;
	Financial Restrictions (Iran) Order 2012;
	Sections 131B to 131D of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (short selling rules).
	None of these repeals generate direct cost savings. The first repeal was made for technical reasons and does not have an impact on business, the voluntary sector or the public sector.
	The Syria and Belarus regulations establish penalties regimes for European Council Regulations which have direct effect. Since then the relevant European Council Regulations have been amended, requiring consequential changes to the UK regulations. These changes have had no impact on business.
	The Financial Restrictions (Iran) Order 2012 prohibited business relationships and financial transactions between UK credit and financial institutions and Iranian banks. Effectively the same prohibition is now contained in a European Council Regulation which has direct effect in the UK. Consequently the order was revoked in order to avoid any confusion resulting from two restrictions operating in parallel. Its repeal therefore has no impact on business.
	The repeal of the FSA's power to make short selling rules was necessary in order to make UK law compatible with a new directly applicable EU regulation on short selling. The EU regulation has replaced the controls previously imposed by the UK legislation and so we have not estimated there to be any saving to business.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are based in each property used by his Department.

Sajid Javid: The number of staff based at each site of HM Treasury are as follows:
	
		
			 Location Headcount 
			 London, 1 Horse Guards Road 1,136 
			 Norwich, Rosebery Court 38 
			 Scotland, Melville Crescent 1 
			 Total 1,175 
		
	
	This information is based on the latest data available for staffing numbers for core HM Treasury as at 31 December 2012.

Taxation: Energy

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce energy tax exemptions to protect the long-term competitiveness of the UK's energy-intensive industries.

Sajid Javid: Government have already taken action to ensure the UK's energy-intensive industries remain competitive. From this year, the Government are implementing measures worth around £250 million over the spending review period to reduce the impact of policy on the costs of electricity for the most electricity-intensive industries. This includes an increase in the level of relief from the climate change levy on electricity for Climate Change Agreement participants from 65% to 90% and a compensation package to help offset the cost of reducing carbon emissions. As set out in the Energy Bill, energy-intensive industries will also be exempted from the costs of Contracts for Difference under Electricity Market Reform, subject to consultation and state aid clearance.

EDUCATION

Adoption: Merseyside

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children (a) were placed for adoption, (b) were adopted and (c) started to be looked after due to the breakdown of an adoptive family in (i) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (ii) Liverpool and (iii) Merseyside in each year since 1997.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 7 February 2013
	Information on the number of looked-after children who were (a) placed for adoption and (b) adopted for the years ending 31 March 1997 to 2012 is shown in the tables. Information at constituency level is not available.
	Information on the number of children who started to be looked after following the breakdown of an adoptive family is not currently available. Information on children who return to care following the breakdown of a previous adoption will be collected for the first time in 2014.
	
		
			 Children looked after at 31 March who were (a) placed for adoption at 31 March or (b) adopted during the year ending 31 March(1,2) 
			 Years ending: 31 March 1997 to 2012 
			 Coverage: Liverpool local authority, Merseyside and England 
			 Number 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
			 All looked after children who were placed for adoption at 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 15 20 25 45 65 70 55 60 
			 Merseyside(3) 50 80 90 120 170 170 140 140 
			 England 2,390 2,420 2,990 3,620 4,070 4,270 3,790 3,610 
			          
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 20 15 10 30 20 35 65 55 
			 Merseyside(3) 50 50 40 70 70 100 130 140 
			 England 1,850 2,190 2,060 2,710 3,070 3,430 3,540 3,760 
		
	
	
		
			 Number 
			  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 All looked after children who were placed for adoption at 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 25 20 25 40 25 25 40 35 
			 Merseyside(3) 100 70 60 120 80 70 90 80 
			 England 3,440 3,020 2,710 2,860 2,680 2,510 2,710 2,680 
			          
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March(1,2)         
			 Liverpool local authority 70 30 20 35 45 40 35 50 
			 Merseyside(3) 140 130 80 90 130 110 100 120 
			 England 3,770 3,700 3,330 3,180 3,330 3,200 3,090 3,450 
			 ‘x’ Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. (1) Numbers at local authority level have been rounded to the nearest 5. England and region level figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (3) Merseyside consists of Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral local authorities.

Alternative Education

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what percentage of pupils in each alternative provision setting were classified as persistent absentees in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	Absence data for PRUs—pupil referral units—were first collected at pupil level for the 2009/10 school year. To provide specific data at PRU level would require a substantial amount of analysis and quality assurance and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Children: Day Care

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the number of hours of (a) formal and (b) informal child care an average child receives each week in (i) Hounslow, (ii) London, (ii) each region and (iv) the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 31 January 2013
	The Department's Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents is the main source of estimates on this topic. The following table provides estimates of the use of child care during a term-time reference week in England and the English regions. Estimates for the UK or at local authority level are not available. The figures relate to 2010. The survey was published on 31 January 2013.
	
		
			 Mean and median hours of child care used by parents of children aged 0 to 14 during a term time reference week by English region 2010 
			  Any child care Formal child care Informal child care 
			  Median hours Mean hours Median hours Mean hours Median hours Mean hours 
			 England 8.3 14.1 6.0 11.6 6.0 11.7 
			 London 9.0 14.8 8.3 13.4 5.5 12.7 
			 North East 10.0 16.2 6.0 11.8 7.7 12.8 
			 North West 9.0 14.6 7.5 12.9 6.0 10.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 11.0 15.9 5.5 11.5 8.0 14.1 
			 East Midlands 8.8 13.6 7.4 13.2 7.0 9.3 
			 West Midlands 9.0 15.2 7.6 13.3 6.0 11.5 
			 East of England 6.0 11.8 4.0 8.9 5.0 9.9 
			 South East 7.0 13.0 5.0 10.7 5.8 11.5 
			 South West 7.5 13.3 5.0 9.5 7.0 12.6 
			 Source: Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents, 2010

Children's Centres: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the quality of provision in each Sure Start centre in Liverpool; and which facilities in Liverpool offer Sure Start provision.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 February 2013
	Liverpool city council's entry to the Sure Start-On database shows that Liverpool currently has 17 Sure Start children's centres. To date, Ofsted has inspected 10 of them. Of the 10, one was judged to be outstanding, eight were judged to be good and one was judged to be satisfactory.

Christmas Cards

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his private ministerial office spent on sending Christmas cards in 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 February 2013
	In 2012, the Private Office to the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), spent £885.75 on Christmas cards for the DFE ministerial team. This figure includes the cost of cards, envelopes, labels and postage.
	The following table provides the amount spent by the DFE Private Office on Christmas cards in previous years:
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
			 2011 572.62 
			 2010 1,106.39 
			 2009 1,711.20 
			 2008 2,737.00 
			 2007 2,653.00 
		
	
	The Christmas card costs have significantly reduced for 2011 and 2012 due to the purchase of in-house design work, which costs less than external procurement.

Citizenship: Curriculum

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the inclusion of Citizenship and Democracy as part of his core curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: We announced proposals for the new national curriculum on 7 February, confirming that citizenship will remain a compulsory national curriculum subject at key stages 3 and 4 in future. We also launched a consultation on the draft programmes of study for all national curriculum subjects, which will end on 16 April. The draft programmes of study for citizenship include teaching about democracy at key stages 3 and 4. In addition, the draft programmes of study for history at key stages 2 and 3 chart the development of democracy in the UK through to the twentieth century.
	Subject to parliamentary approval, we plan to make the final programmes of study available to schools this autumn so that they can prepare for first teaching from September 2014. More information about our proposals and the consultation is available at:
	www.education.gov.uk/nationalcurriculum

Correspondence

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what instructions he has issued to his private ministerial office on the preparation of briefing, speeches and replies to official correspondence.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not issued any instructions to his private office regarding the preparation of briefing, speeches and replies to official correspondence.

Creationism

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues to schools on the teaching of creationism.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has made it clear that creationism has no place in any science curriculum and should not be taught as a valid scientific alternative to scientific theories. Creationism does not accord with the consensus of the scientific community or the very large body of established scientific evidence. There is scope for pupils to discuss beliefs about the origins of the Earth and living things, such as creationism, in religious education, as long as it is not presented as a valid alternative to established scientific theory.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 83 of the summary of recommendations in Lord Justice Leveson's report on the culture, practices and ethics of the press, what steps his Department has taken to comply with the recommendations set out in that paragraph.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government already publish on a quarterly basis, information about meetings between Ministers, permanent secretaries, special advisers and media proprietors, editors and senior executives. Cross-party talks about Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations, including the implementation of recommendations at paragraph 83 for Government Ministers and Front- Bench Opposition spokesmen, are on-going.

Education: Qualifications

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of Key Stage 4 examination entries (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies were for (i) a history GCSE, (ii) a geography GCSE, (iii) a modern foreign language GCSE, (iv) a physics GCSE, (v) a chemistry GCSE, (vi) a biology GCSE, (vii) a science GCSE, (viii) an English GCSE, (ix) an art GCSE, (x) a drama GCSE, (xi) a design and technology GCSE, (xii) an information technology GCSE, (xiii) an OCR national level 2 qualification in information and communications technology and (xiv) a diploma in digital application in 2011-12; and how many and what proportion in each such category were eligible for free school meals;
	(2)  how many Key Stage 4 examination entries there were (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies in (i) a history GCSE, (ii) a geography GCSE, (iii) a modern foreign language GCSE, (iv) a physics GCSE, (v) a chemistry GCSE, (vi) a biology GCSE, (vii) a science GCSE, (viii) an English GCSE, (ix) an art GCSE, (x) a drama GCSE, (xi) a design and technology GCSE, (xii) an information technology GCSE, (xiii) an OCR national level 2 qualification in information and communications technology and (xiv) a diploma in digital application in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12;
	(3)  how many Key Stage 4 examination entries for pupils eligible for free school meals there were (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies in 2011-12 Key Stage 4 examination entries in (i) a history GCSE, (ii) a geography GCSE, (iii) a modern foreign language GCSE, (iv) a physics GCSE, (v) a chemistry GCSE, (vi) a biology GCSE, (vii) a science GCSE, (viii) an English GCSE, (ix) an art GCSE, (x) a drama GCSE, (xi) a design and technology GCSE, (xii) an information technology GCSE, (xiii) an OCR national level 2 qualification in information and communications technology and (xiv) a diploma in digital application in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

Freedom of Information

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Freedom of Information requests were received by his Department in 2012; and how many such requests were answered late.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 7 February 2013
	Quarterly and annual statistics on Freedom of Information requests received by a number of central Government monitored bodies (including all Departments of state) are published by the Ministry of Justice on their website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation/implementation-editions
	The Department is asked to collate these statistics to provide a picture of FOI performance across central Government Departments.

GCSE

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish details of the recent consultation held by his Department on the proposed changes to GCSE examinations.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government have published their response to the public consultation on reforming key stage 4 qualifications, alongside their equality impact analysis and policy steer to Ofqual, the examinations regulator. Copies of these documents have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in (a) academies and (b) mainstream schools that were not academies achieved (i) A* to C in English and mathematics GCSE, (ii) five A* to C grades in GCSE including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents, (iii) five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics including equivalents, (iv) A* to C in English, mathematics, two sciences, a foreign language and history or geography excluding equivalents and (v) five A* to C at GCSE excluding equivalents in each year since 2003.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The Department for Education regularly publishes statistics on GCSE and equivalent attainment; the most recent statistical first release (SFR) was “GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2011/12 (Revised)” available from our website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00219173/qcse-and-equivalent-results
	Please see the second link under “Downloads” for the latest year's figures and then the following tables:
	(i) Table 4a
	(ii) Table 5a
	(iii) Table 5a
	(iv) Table 3a
	(v) Table 5a
	Similar information for 2011 is available in "GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2010/11 (Revised)"
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00201306/dfe-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-enqland-201011-revised
	Further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals who attended schools that were classified by Ofsted as (i) outstanding, (ii) good, (iii) satisfactory and (iv) inadequate at their most recent inspection achieved (A) A* to C in English and mathematics GCSE, (B) five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents and (C) five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics including equivalents in the last year for which figures are available.

David Laws: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The above information can be found in the following tables.
	
		
			 Achievements at GCSE and equivalent for pupils(1) at the end of Key Stage 4 by Free School Meal eligibility (FSM) who attended schools that were classified by Ofsted as Outstanding, Good, Satisfactory and Inadequate, years: 2011/12 (revised)(2,3), coverage: England, state-funded schools (including Academies and CTCs) 
			  FSM Pupils 
			 Ofsted Rating Number of eligible pupils(1) A*-C in English and mathematics GCSEs 5+ A*-C grades exc. equivalents inc. English and mathematics GCSEs(4) 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs 
			 Outstanding 11,546 46.2 38.9 45.7 
			 Good 27,855 37.1 27.8 36.5 
			 Satisfactory 21,982 33.2 23.9 32.7 
			 Inadequate 3,849 25.3 14.3 24.7 
			 All Schools(5) 80,190 36.8 27.7 36.3 
		
	
	
		
			  All Other Pupils 
			 Ofsted Rating Number of eligible pupils(1) A*-C in English and mathematics GCSEs 5+ A*-C grades exc. equivalents inc. English and mathematics GCSEs(4) 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs 
			 Outstanding 74,499 72 67.4 71.6 
			 Good 165,419 62.2 55.1 61.7 
			 Satisfactory 106,940 55.8 46.9 55.3 
			 Inadequate 15,065 47.2 36.1 46.8 
			 All Schools(5) 481,125 63 56 62.6 
		
	
	
		
			  All Pupils 
			 Ofsted Rating Number of eligible pupils(1) A*-C in English and mathematics GCSEs 5+ A*-C grades exc. equivalents inc. English and mathematics GCSEs(4) 5+ A*-C grades inc. English and mathematics GCSEs 
			 Outstanding 86,045 68.5 63.5 68.1 
			 Good 193,274 58.5 51.2 58.1 
			 Satisfactory 128,922 51.9 43 51.4 
			 Inadequate 18,914 42.8 31.7 42.3 
			 All Schools(5) 561,315 59.3 51.9 58.8 
			 (1) Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (2) Figures for 2011/12 are based on revised data. (3) iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. (4) GCSEs only (including iGCSEs, short courses, double awards and vocational GCSEs) and AS levels. (5) Includes pupils within schools for which an Ofsted rating could not be determined. Source: Key Stage 4 attainment data

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the availability of measures to support access to education for girls whose access to education is disrupted as a result of symptoms developed after receiving the HPV vaccine.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not made an assessment of the measures to support pupils who suffer side effects from the HPV vaccination or the availability of those measures. Those at local level who are responsible for educating pupils with health needs—schools and local authorities—are best placed to determine the most appropriate arrangements for ensuring that health problems of any kind do not prevent individual children from receiving a good education. We trust them to act in their pupils' best interests.
	We expect schools to understand and support the educational, health and medical needs of all pupils and that they work closely alongside parents and carers, as well as their local health services, to address any concerns. Where a short-term absence occurs as a result of side effects of any HPV vaccination, we would expect the pupil's school to make arrangements for them to continue their work at home, or to catch up with their work once back in school.
	In any case where a pupil has to be absent for a longer period of time as a result of vaccination, their local authority would have a duty to arrange suitable education for them outside of school. In January, the Department for Education published guidance to local authorities on ensuring that children who cannot attend school because of health needs receive a good education. This guidance can be found at:
	http://tinyurl.com/bxvfy4d

ICT: Curriculum

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the final decisions on implementation of changes to the curriculum for schools in relation to information technology will be announced; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: We published draft programmes of study for all national curriculum subjects for consultation on 7 February. As part of that consultation we are seeking views on a proposal to replace the existing, outdated ICT curriculum with a new computing curriculum with a much greater emphasis on computational thinking and practical programming skills, which will help England to retain a competitive edge in the vital and growing digital economy. The consultation will end on 16 April.
	Subject to parliamentary approval, we plan to make the final programmes of study available to schools this autumn so that they can prepare for first teaching from September 2014. More information about our proposals and the consultation is available at:
	www.education.gov.uk/nationalcurriculum

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much pupil premium was allocated to schools in each local authority area in the last year for which figures are available.

David Laws: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011. Pupil premium funding is provided to schools which have on roll pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (the deprivation premium); children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months (the looked after child premium); and children whose parents are serving in the armed forces (the service child premium).
	Pupil premium 2012-13 allocations for schools are published on the Department's website:
	http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xlsx/p/pupil%20 premium%202012-13%20school%20tables%20final.xlsx
	In the financial year 2012-13, eligibility for pupil premium was extended to pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. The service premium was also extended to include children whose parents have died in service and the children are now in receipt of pensions under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and the War Pensions Scheme (WPS). We are also protecting the entitlement of those who were eligible for the service premium in 2011-12 but who are no longer recorded as a service child on the January 2012 census.
	The pupil premium will increase from £623 to £900 per pupil in 2013-14 and the service premium will increase from £250 to £300 per pupil. Illustrative allocations for 2013-14 are available on the Department's website.

Pupils: Study Leave

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will investigate the benefits and disadvantages of providing study leave for students taking end of year examinations at 16 years old.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 February 2013
	The Department for Education has no plans to investigate the benefits and disadvantages of providing study leave for students taking end of year examinations at 16 years old.

Roads: Safety

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to educate children about proper road safety.

Elizabeth Truss: Road safety education can be covered as part of non-statutory personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Schools are free to decide what to include in their PSHE programmes and should tailor the content of PSHE lessons to take account of the needs of their pupils.

Schools: Snow and Ice

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to schools and local education authorities on contingency planning to minimise school closures in the event of snow; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has revised its advice to schools setting out our expectation that, in the event of adverse weather conditions such as heavy snow, head teachers should keep schools open for as many pupils as possible whenever it is reasonable for them to do so. The advice also dispels a number of myths around health and safety and staffing issues relating to adverse weather conditions. The advice was e-mailed to local authorities on 29 January 2013 and can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://tinyurl.com/37k7vmp

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that schools offer permanent posts to the teachers they have trained through the School Direct programme.

David Laws: holding answer 11 February 2013
	Through School Direct, schools can choose and recruit the trainees they want with an expectation that the trainee will be employed after successfully completing their training.
	We expect schools, therefore, to have a clear capacity to employ the trainees when they successfully complete their training programme. We advise schools to review their previous employment patterns and use current knowledge on staffing issues to make an assessment of future need. This assessment should enable them to request a number of places that broadly matches the future employment requirements.
	The expectation of employment does not need to sit with an individual school; it can be shared collectively. We advise schools to work together in partnerships to deliver School Direct. Larger partnerships of schools mean that turnover of staff can be more accurately predicted and there is enough scale to ensure that trainees can be found work when they qualify.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost is of training a teacher in each subject through (a) Initial Teacher Training delivered in higher education, (b) the Graduate Teacher Programme and (c) School Direct.

David Laws: holding answer 11 February 2013
	Initial Teacher Training (ITT) is funded through a combination of tuition fees charged by the provider to the trainee (which qualify for student loans accessed directly by the trainee from the Student Loans Company), and grant funding from the Department for Education (which covers training bursaries, under graduate continuer funding and the graduate teacher programme).
	While the Department is responsible for the allocation of places to providers, it does not collate the overall costs of teacher training in each subject for the different ITT routes, as decisions on the level of fees are the responsibility of the providers who deliver ITT programmes.
	Detailed information on how the Department will fund ITT for the academic year 2013/14 can be found in the published guidance for Training Bursary Guide Academic Year 2013/14 and the School Direct Operations Manual 2013/14.

HEALTH

Horsemeat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Food Standards Agency's statement of 7 February 2013 confirming horsemeat in Findus meat products, which Findus products have been tested; and what the results of such tests have been to date.

Anna Soubry: On 7 February the Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirmed that the meat content of beef lasagne products recalled by Findus had tested positive for horsemeat. There is no evidence to suggest that this is a food safety risk. However, the FSA has ordered Findus to test the lasagne for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or “bute”. Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain as it may pose a risk to human health. The results of this test are expected in the next few days and will be published on the FSA website.
	The FSA has also ordered food businesses, including Findus, to conduct tests for the presence of significant levels of horsemeat on all beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagne, and provide the results to the FSA. The deadline for the first set of results to be provided to the FSA is 15 February.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2012, Official Report, column 224W, on cancer, what discussions he has had with (a) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and (b) the NHS Commissioning Board on the omission of a potential indicator on patient experience of cancer patients from the consultation of the 2014/15 Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set.

Anna Soubry: The Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set is a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for advising the NHS Commissioning Board on potential indicators.
	NICE makes recommendations based on the best evidence available. We understand that an indicator on patient experience of cancer services is being considered, and then will be the subject of consultation by NICE.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the commissioning of specialised and non-specialised cancer services will not result in fragmentation of care.

Anna Soubry: Work has been undertaken to support the development of service specifications for both specialist cancer services, which will be commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board, and those cancer services that will be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.
	To date, 15 specialist service specifications have been drafted by the Specialised Cancer Clinical Reference group for the NHS Commissioning Board. The National Cancer Action Team has also produced three advisory service specifications for Clinical Commissioning Groups in breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer. These are included in the Cancer Commissioning Toolkit.
	These service specifications cover the whole cancer care pathway and will ensure that patients receive appropriate treatment and support at all stages of the patient journey.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is continuing to build its library of Quality Standards, which will act as markers of high quality, cost-effective patient care in the NHS. Four cancer quality standards have already been published.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of using (a) the results of the national cancer patient experience surveys and (b) the friends and family test to improve the experience of cancer patients in the NHS.

Anna Soubry: The national report and 160 bespoke trust level reports from the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011-12 were published in August 2012. These have been made widely available to drive and inform local service improvement. The trust level reports provide benchmarked data nationally and between teams so that priority improvement areas can be identified. We are aware that a number of trusts have produced action plans based on the results of the surveys.
	The National Cancer Action Team has been working with Cancer Networks to drive service improvements based on the results of the survey. This has included producing the report ‘Improvements in cancer patient experience: how have they been made?’, which will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cancer Patient Experience Advisory Group on 8 March 2013, and then shared widely with trusts.
	We have encouraged stakeholders in the third sector to use the survey results to identify and share best practice in patient care and services to support service improvement activity. For example, Macmillan Cancer Support analysed the data and published the 10 best and worst performing trusts in England in 2012, which were also published in the second annual report of ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’ in December 2012. Macmillan also produced ‘Improving Cancer Patient Experience—A top tips guide’. This document can be found at:
	www.macmillan.org.uk
	In addition, all the quantitative data from the survey have been sent to the National Data Archive at Essex University and are freely available for access by researchers to undertake a series of analyses under the rules of the archive.
	Patient experience is one of three domains of quality alongside effectiveness and safety. This Government is committed to encouraging services to be responsive to patient needs and experiences, and using feedback to make services truly patient-centred.
	The Friends and Family test will be implemented nationally from 1 April 2013 for all acute in-patient and accident and emergency (A&E) services. All in-patients and patients in A&E departments will be given the opportunity to answer the simple question ‘How likely are you to recommend our ward/A&E department to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment’.
	The test is unique in that it provides frequent, fast (near-real time) feedback, which is comparable from both patients' and NHS staff perspectives. Alongside other feedback, the test will be used by service providers as a tool for improvement; by commissioners and the public to hold services to account; and by patients to inform choice.
	Where a cancer patient is either an in-patient or discharged from an A&E department, they will be asked the Friends and Family test; however, the results will not be differentiated by patient diagnosis.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to tackle the cost of self-funded places in care homes;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to reduce any disparity between the cost of a (a) local authority place and (b) self-funded place in a care home.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not intervene in the process of setting of care home fees, which are for negotiation between providers and commissioners or purchasers of care.
	As major purchasers of care home places, local authorities are able to give care home operators greater confidence about future occupancy levels. The security about business prospects this gives to operators can allow local authorities to negotiate very competitive prices. Local authorities are under a duty to secure the best value for the public funds they spend on services. This must, however, be based on due consideration of the cost of providing care.
	Through the draft Care and Support Bill, the Government has, for the first time, placed an explicit duty on local authorities to promote a diverse, high quality and sustainable local market for care and support that meets the needs of local people.

Carers: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of registered carers in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.

Norman Lamb: The only regulated part of the social care work force are social workers and nurses, occupational therapists and other therapists.
	The number of registered social workers employed by councils with adult social services responsibilities is published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The data within the publication are supplied by Skills for Care. Data for registered children's social workers are not collected or published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
	Data are not collected at constituency level and are therefore presented for Yorkshire and Humber only and are at whole-time equivalent (WTE) level and individual worker level. As at September 2011 there were 1,820 WTE adult social workers in Yorkshire and Humber, this equates to 2,030 individual social workers employed.
	On 11 December, the Office for National Statistics published data from the 2011 Census for England and Wales. These showed that, overall, 5.8 million (10%) residents in England and Wales provided unpaid care for someone with an illness or disability.

Dental Services

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date he expects the new NHS dentistry contract development to be completed.

Norman Lamb: No date has been set for the introduction of a new dental contract. The Government made a commitment to introducing a new contract and said there would be thorough preparation including piloting. Piloting intended to test key elements needed to design that new contract began in 2011. A second wave of pilots was announced in October 2012 and will be in place from 1 April 2013. This second stage will allow for further testing of key elements of any new contract.

Dental Services

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase access to dentistry care provided by the NHS.

Norman Lamb: The Government is committing to improving access to dentistry. Between May 2010 and September 2012, an additional 1.1 million patients have been seen by a national health service dentist and we are committed to achieving further increases. These improvements have been supported by an additional £28 million we made available in 2012 to support local access to NHS dentistry and a further £30 million is being made available to support access this year.

Diabetes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate is at which GPs are remunerated for individual diabetes tests.

Norman Lamb: There is no specific rate or fee for individual diabetes tests. Under the terms of their contract for the provision of national health service primary medical services, general practitioners (GPs) are required to provide all necessary services to their patients. Practices receive annually a weighted price per patient that is intended to cover delivery of the essential and additional services all GP practices are expected to provide to patients who have chosen to register with them to meet their personal medical services needs.
	In addition, all primary medical services contractors who are responsible for patients registered with them may participate in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). This provides additional reward to GP practices for how well they care for patients based on their performance against a number of agreed indicators.
	Primary medical care contractors are awarded points under QOF for providing high quality care for patients with diabetes, including carrying out each of the nine diabetes tests. The 2012-13 QOF diabetes mellitus area and smoking area includes indicators which directly reward practices for carrying out a number of clinical measures that have a proven evidence base for improving the care of patients with diabetes. These include tests or processes which are an intermediate outcomes measure for which they must record the results.
	The 2012-13 quality indicators for which practices will be rewarded are set out in the Quality and Outcomes Framework guidance for GMS contract 2012-13 on the NHS Employers' website at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/Aboutus/Publications/Documents/QOF_2012-13.pdf
	The number of points available for each indicator is set out in the summary tables. The proportion of points each contractor receives depends on the percentage of patients for whom they achieve the indicator, within upper and lower payment thresholds (or payment stages). The value of a point in 2012-13 was set at £133.76 per contractor and is adjusted by relative list size and prevalence of the relevant disease.

Drugs: Prices

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) other bodies on a value-based pricing system of drugs and treatments since his appointment; and which other groups he has met in relation to this issue.

Norman Lamb: Since 4 September 2012, the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has met with a number of organisations, including the Ministerial Industry Strategy Group, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the Life Sciences Champions, where value-based pricing was discussed.
	Ministers and officials have engaged with a wide range of patient groups, clinicians, national health service representatives, industry and other interested parties, including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency as we develop our plans for the new pricing system for branded medicines, including value-based pricing.

Food: Testing

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many food sample tests (a) the Food Standards Agency and (b) local authorities acting on behalf of the Food Standards Agency have conducted (i) throughout Scotland and (ii) in each local authority area in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is involved in a range of food sampling carried out each year under a range of national and European Union food legislation. The various areas of testing and numbers of samples taken are set out in the annual reports of the Implementation of the UK National Control Plan since 2007.
	The FSA also commissions regular surveys of foods to help to protect and inform consumers by alerting the agency to potential food safety issues. The surveys help to judge the effectiveness of regulation and inform negotiations with the European Commission, monitor trends and assess risks. These surveys can also be found on the FSA website.
	Local authorities in Scotland reported the following total number of food sample tests in their annual food law enforcement monitoring returns to the FSA:
	
		
			  Number of analyses (tests) Number of individual samples 
			 2008-09 — 15,223 
			 2009-10 19,367 13,969 
			 2010-11 15,248 10,642 
			 2011-12 13,602 10,236 
			 2012-13 (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) Not yet available 
		
	
	These returns only include the samples tested by Official Control Laboratories and may not reflect the whole of the local authorities’ food sampling activities.
	The data by individual local authority are:
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Local authority Analyses Samples Analyses Samples Analyses Samples Analyses Samples 
			 Aberdeen City 932 459 1,056 673 774 584 1,189 814 
			 Aberdeenshire 988 810 921 583 678 540 492 348 
			 Angus Council 645 916 749 508 498 421 476 343 
		
	
	
		
			 Argyll and Bute 333 311 369 255 137 99 209 156 
			 City of Edinburgh n/a n/a 2093 1,023 583 331 859 530 
			 City of Glasgow 1,490 1,409 1,912 1,410 1,693 1,551 1,652 1,495 
			 Clackmannanshire 215 215 203 155 115 113 141 114 
			 Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar 95 68 175 106 157 107 83 60 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 264 203 353 255 427 331 333 275 
			 Dundee City 483 376 624 422 413 338 367 233 
			 East Ayrshire 1,112 859 918 735 449 427 281 267 
			 East Dunbartonshire 662 366 204 166 281 238 365 311 
			 East Lothian 184 184 1,158 561 787 453 691 390 
			 East Renfrewshire 413 413 511 361 333 277 114 105 
			 Falkirk 137 130 291 201 212 192 145 121 
			 Fife 372 372 735 521 366 336 418 315 
			 Inverclyde Council 271 206 179 147 295 41 192 248 
			 Midlothian 239 239 434 210 408 215 387 216 
			 Moray 520 321 663 441 404 329 413 323 
			 North Ayrshire 520 353 482 303 347 239 326 244 
			 North Lanarkshire 1,051 960 536 517 296 127 118 115 
			 Orkney Islands 2 2 124 64 149 80 69 47 
			 Perth and Kinross 266 157 361 267 278 257 320 243 
			 Renfrewshire 337 337 268 209 145 118 65 49 
			 Scottish Borders 326 314 615 310 266 147 418 259 
			 Shetland Islands 1,215 1,210 299 144 99 59 235 136 
			 South Ayrshire 489 489 482 353 483 415 474 435 
			 South Lanarkshire 1,194 1,153 1,053 1,024 1,325 486 738 700 
			 Stirling n/a n/a 533 362 519 397 270 225 
			 The Highland Council 2,307 1,353 1,066 672 1,124 618 755 422 
			 West Dunbartonshire 377 379 397 315 121 202 313 275 
			 West Lothian 706 659 1,371 696 1,086 574 694 422

Health Services: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the health of people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Norman Lamb: The mandate sets out the Government's ambitions for the health service for the next two years. It includes an objective for the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) to make measurable progress towards making the national health service among the best in Europe at supporting people with ongoing health problems to live healthily and independently, with much better control over the care they receive.
	It is for the board to decide how they will carry this out; the Government will hold them to account for the outcomes they achieve.
	The NHS CB will in turn hold clinical commission groups (CCGs) to account. While the board will be expected to give CCGs freedom to commission services tailored to the needs of their local population, CCGs will be accountable to the NHS CB through an annual performance assessment. This will include an assessment of how the CCG has fulfilled its duty to act consistently with the mandate. This will provide a direct line of accountability back to the expectations set out in the mandate. The board must publish a report annually summarising the results of all its performance assessments of CCGs.
	Local commissioners have the primary responsibility for determining what steps are needed to improve the health of people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in Pendle constituency and Lancashire. To support local commissioners, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published clinical guidelines and other guidance on a number of musculoskeletal conditions, and NICE Quality Standards for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions are in preparation. In addition the NHS CB are proposing to appoint a national clinical director for musculoskeletal conditions who will consider what other steps could be taken at national level to support high quality local commissioning.

Heart Diseases: Children

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what regional representation there was on the bodies which advised the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts regarding the safe and sustainable review of paediatric cardiac services;
	(2)  which members of which bodies advised the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts as part of the safe and sustainable review of paediatric cardiac services;
	(3)  what the recruitment policies were of the bodies which advised the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts as part of the safe and sustainable review of paediatric cardiac services; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  for what reasons the minutes of meetings of the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts regarding the safe and sustainable review of paediatric cardiac services were redacted when supplied to the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Yorkshire and the Humber.

Anna Soubry: The Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital heart services was a national health service review, independent of Government. The matters raised, therefore, are for the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts, which undertook the review.
	In these circumstances, and given legal proceedings and a review by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel are underway, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Horse Passports

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many horses presented for slaughter at UK abattoirs have been rejected by officials because of concerns over their equine passports in (a) the last month and (b) each of the last four years; and at what location each such event occurred.

Anna Soubry: The following table states the number of horses presented for slaughter at UK abattoirs which have been rejected in the last month:
	
		
			  Plant Number of horses rejected by the plant operator official veterinarian (OVs) at ante mortem inspection 
			 16 January 2013 8231—Stillmans Ltd 1 
		
	
	The following table states the number of horses presented for slaughter at UK abattoirs which have been rejected in each of the last four years:
	
		
			  Plant Number of horses rejected by the plant operator (OVs) at ante mortem inspection 
			 2009-10 8231—Stillmans Ltd 22 
			 2010-11 4185—High Peak Ltd 1 
			    
			 2011-12 2238—Yorkshire Country Meats 35 
			  8231—Stillmans Ltd 23 
			    
			 2012-13 2238—Yorkshire Country Meats 1 
			  4185—High Peak Ltd 1 
			  8231—Stillmans Ltd 26

Horses

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which horse premises are on the Food Standards Agency's cause for concern list.

Anna Soubry: There are no slaughterhouses approved for processing horses within the United Kingdom appearing on the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) cause for concern list.
	As part of its ongoing investigation into the mislabelling of meat products the FSA and police entered two meat premises, one in West Yorkshire and the other in West Wales on 13 February 2013.
	The plant in West Yorkshire is Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and we believe it supplied horse carcases to Farmbox Meats Ltd, Llandre, Aberystwyth. The FSA and the police are looking into the circumstances through which meat products, purporting to be beef for kebabs and burgers, were sold when they were in fact horse.
	The FSA has suspended operations at both these plants. Both West Yorkshire and Dyfed-Powys police have entered the premises with the FSA. The FSA has detained all meat found, and seized paperwork, including customer lists from the two companies.

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timelines are for the review of the Code of Practice for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A review of the code of practice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is being taken forward as a result of recent developments, including changes to the health and public health system following implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Review 2012. The revised Code of Practice will be published when finalised later this year.

North East Strategic Health Authority

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 470W, on NHS: expenditure, for what reasons the North East Strategic Health Authority has received the second highest level of funding from the National Specialised Commissioning Team since 2004-05.

Norman Lamb: Further analysis of the data given in the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 470W, on NHS: expenditure, would indicate that expenditure at trusts in the North East Strategic Health Authority area was the fourth highest total by area between 2004-05 and 2008-09, the fifth highest in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and the sixth highest in 2011-12.
	The National Specialised Commissioning Team (NSCT) in NHS London commissions for the entire population of England. Given the very small number of patients involved, the small number of procedures and the very high level of clinical expertise required to provide such treatments, most nationally commissioned services are provided in a very small number of centres, usually no more than three or four. Providers work collectively to provide a national service to the whole population and must demonstrate their capacity to meet nationally-agreed criteria, detailed service specifications and comprehensive contractual and performance measures, including equality of access.
	The NSCT currently commissions from two providers in the North East Strategic Health Authority area. The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of highly specialised services for the benefit of all English patients. Similarly, the Secure Forensic Mental Health Services commissioned from Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust receives referrals and admits patients from across England.

Nurses: Labour Turnover

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of nurses that will (a) join and (b) leave the NHS in 2013.

Daniel Poulter: No central estimate has been made of the number of nurses that will join or leave the national health service in 2013. Local NHS organisations are responsible for the skill mix of their work force as they are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and must have the freedom to deploy staff in ways appropriate for local conditions.
	The Centre for Workforce Intelligence has been asked to review the nursing work force with more input from employers and to advise whether the current level of training is sufficient to maintain a balance between supply and demand in future years. This report is expected to be published shortly.

Nurses: Recruitment

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time nursing posts were advertised through the NHS Jobs website in each month since January 2010.

Norman Lamb: The Department is able to provide data about the number of job advertisements placed on NHS Jobs by employers in the national health service. However, the data are provided by whole-time equivalents (WTE), (to the nearest whole number) and not full-time posts (these data are not collected)(1).
	The following table shows the number of adverts in each month since January 2010 for ‘Nursing' or ‘Nursing & Midwifery Registered' staff groups. It also includes the sum of the ‘whole-time equivalent' values on each vacancy.
	(1 )Adverts are listed for single or multiple full-time and part-time posts. The whole-time equivalent figure adds all these together and is not the same as full time posts only.
	
		
			  Number of adverts WTE (rounded to nearest whole number) 
			 January 2010 5,064 8,788 
			 February 2010 4,249 7,707 
			 March 2010 4,654 8,212 
			 April 2010 4,168 7,187 
			 May 2010 4,219 6,904 
			 June 2010 4,575 7,744 
			 July 2010 4,301 7,205 
			 August 2010 4,134 6,575 
			 September 2010 4,023 7,349 
			 October 2010 4,132 7,165 
			 November 2010 4,422 6,858 
			 December 2010 3,377 5,002 
			 January 2011 3,953 6,123 
			 February 2011 3,952 6,420 
			 March 2011 4,151 6,433 
		
	
	
		
			 April 2011 3,507 5,398 
			 May 2011 4,014 6,345 
			 June 2011 4,296 6,888 
			 July 2011 4,269 6,355 
			 August 2011 4,682 7,316 
			 September 2011 4,270 6,950 
			 October 2011 4,307 6,938 
			 November 2011 4,427 6,437 
			 December 2011 3,564 5,309 
			 January 2012 4,477 8,004 
			 February 2012 4,259 6,733 
			 March 2012 4,521 8,123 
			 April 2012 4,271 7,244 
			 May 2012 5,021 10,076 
			 June 2012 4,310 8,510 
			 July 2012 5,008 8,321 
			 August 2012 5,225 8,523 
			 September 2012 4,709 8,202 
			 October 2012 5,556 10,183 
			 November 2012 5,298 11,211 
			 December 2012 4,071 8,426 
			 January 2013 5,104 8,846 
			 Note: The numbers produced are worked out from those vacancies that are in the ‘Nursing' or ‘Nursing & Midwifery Registered' staff groups, are above band 4 and do not have ‘midwife' or ‘midwives' in the job title. May include a small number of vacancies that are more management than nursing or that are simply mis-identified. Source: Data gathered from NHS Jobs 13 February 2013

Prescriptions

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 189W, on prescriptions, how many of the items listed under items dispensed, charges applied (million) in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 were dispensed in (i) the North West and (ii) Liverpool.

Norman Lamb: The number of prescription items dispensed with the standard prescription charge applied, in the North West strategic health authority and Liverpool primary care trust areas is as follows:
	
		
			 Million 
			  North West strategic health authority Liverpool primary care trust 
			 2010 6.5 0.4 
			 2011 6.3 0.3 
			 Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) data provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Primary Care Trusts

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated running cost per head of population of each primary care trust in England is in 2012-13.

Norman Lamb: The forecast running cost per head of population for each primary care trust in England in 2012-13 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Primary care trust 2012-13 forecast running cost per head of population (£) 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 39 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 51 
			 Barnet PCT 53 
			 Barnsley PCT 42 
			 Bassetlaw PCT 45 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 33 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 37 
			 Berkshire East PCT 38 
			 Berkshire West PCT 35 
			 Bexley NHS Care Trust PCT 36 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 60 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Teaching Care Trust Plus PCT 65 
			 Blackpool PCT 58 
			 Bolton Teaching PCT 45 
			 Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT 29 
			 Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 59 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 83 
			 Brighton and Hove City Teaching PCT 44 
			 Bristol PCT 42 
			 Bromley PCT 36 
			 Buckinghamshire PCT 27 
			 Bury PCT 46 
			 Calderdale PCT 64 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 22 
			 Camden PCT 70 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 41 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 44 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 90 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 39 
			 County Durham PCT 40 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT 37 
			 Croydon PCT 42 
			 Cumbria Teaching PCT 26 
			 Darlington PCT 39 
			 Derby City PCT 39 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 27 
			 Devon PCT 30 
			 Doncaster PCT' 42 
			 Dorset PCT 35 
			 Dudley PCT 35 
			 Ealing PCT 40 
			 East Lancashire Teaching PCT 56 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 24 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 30 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 39 
			 Enfield PCT 52 
			 Gateshead PCT 38 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 34 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 40 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 58 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 48 
		
	
	
		
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 58 
			 Hampshire PCT 27 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 59 
			 Harrow PCT 55 
			 Hartlepool PCT 44 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 32 
			 Havering PCT 41 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 51 
			 Herefordshire PCT 42 
			 Hertfordshire PCT 22 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 65 
			 Hillingdon PCT 37 
			 Hounslow PCT 45 
			 Hull Teaching PCT 37 
			 Isle of Wight NHS PCT 38 
			 Islington PCT 56 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 52 
			 Kingston PCT 34 
			 Kirklees PCT 19 
			 Knowsley PCT 68 
			 Lambeth PCT 36 
			 Leeds PCT 31 
			 Leicester City PCT 45 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 26 
			 Lewisham PCT 43 
			 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 28 
			 Liverpool PCT 62 
			 Luton Teaching PCT 45 
			 Manchester Teaching PCT 51 
			 Medway PCT 37 
			 Mid Essex PCT 30 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 45 
			 Milton Keynes PCT 43 
			 Newcastle PCT 39 
			 Newham PCT 81 
			 Norfolk PCT 29 
			 North East Essex PCT 36 
			 North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus PCT 34 
			 North Lancashire Teaching PCT 58 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 24 
			 North Somerset PCT 45 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 35 
			 North Tyneside PCT 34 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 24 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 27 
			 Northumberland Care PCT 31 
			 Nottingham City PCT 36 
			 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 36 
			 Oldham PCT 54 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 32 
			 Peterborough PCT 58 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 34 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 49 
			 Redbridge PCT 44 
		
	
	
		
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 41 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 68 
			 Rotherham PCT 35 
			 Salford PCT 55 
			 Sandwell PCT 54 
			 Sefton PCT 63 
			 Sheffield PCT 27 
			 Shropshire County PCT 32 
			 Solihull PCT 43 
			 Somerset PCT 36 
			 South Birmingham PCT 48 
			 South East Essex PCT 38 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 36 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 30 
			 South Tyneside PCT 38 
			 South West Essex PCT 32 
			 Southampton City PCT 37 
			 Southwark PCT 39 
			 Stockport PCT 44 
			 Stockton-on-Tees Teaching PCT 37 
			 Stoke on Trent PCT 40 
			 Suffolk PCT 24 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 36 
			 Surrey PCT 30 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 39 
			 Swindon PCT 28 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 53 
			 Telford and Wrekin PCT 41 
			 Torbay Care PCT 44 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 115 
			 Trafford PCT 42 
			 Wakefield District PCT 46 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 47 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 46 
			 Wandsworth PCT 56 
			 Warrington PCT 49 
			 Warwickshire PCT 32 
			 West Essex PCT 35 
			 West Kent PCT 33 
			 West Sussex PCT 24 
			 Western Cheshire PCT 42 
			 Westminster PCT 49 
			 Wiltshire PCT 30 
			 Wirral PCT 49 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 54 
			 Worcestershire PCT 32

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many regulations his Department has repealed in the last six months; and what the estimated cost-saving has been of each such repeal.

Daniel Poulter: The Department laid eight Statutory Instruments (SIs) to revoke 14 Orders and 51 sets of regulations between 1 August 2012 and 31 January 2013.
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.

WALES

Walking

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Health and (b) First Minister of Wales regarding the health benefits of walking short distances on a regular basis.

David Jones: I have regular conversations with both my Cabinet colleagues and members of the Welsh Government.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what regulations her Department repealed between 1 June 2012 and 31 January 2013; and what estimate she has made of the likely level of savings to (a) the Government, (b) business and (c) the general public.

Michael Penning: As my Department's responsibilities are chiefly confined to constitutional, electoral and national security matters, it is responsible for few regulations and has not repealed any during this period.

SCOTLAND

Government Procurement Card

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with reference to his Department's data on Government Procurement Card spend over £500: June 2012, what was purchased at a value of £519.81 at Malmaison Glasgow on 30 May 2012 using the Government Procurement Card.

Michael Moore: As part of my ongoing engagement with Scottish business, I hosted a dinner for representatives of Scotland's green energy sector at Malmaison, Glasgow on 29 May 2012.

Housing Benefit

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of people in Scotland whose entitlement to housing benefit will cease after the introduction of the size criteria in April 2013.

Michael Moore: The Department for Work and Pensions provided its estimate of the number of people who will see their entitlement to housing benefit cease in its impact assessment published on 28 June 2012. The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

Housing Benefit

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the proportion of housing benefit recipients in Scotland who are affected by the introduction of the size criteria for housing benefit who will (a) remain in their current accommodation and (b) move to different accommodation.

Michael Moore: The Department for Work and Pensions provided its assessment of the likelihood of those affected (a) remaining in their current accommodation and (b) moving to different accommodation in its impact assessment published on 28 June 2012. The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
	Further independent research is also being commissioned that will monitor and evaluate the impacts of the changes in a range of locations.

Official Hospitality

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 779W, on official hospitality, if he will publish the cost breakdown of each event.

David Mundell: The cost breakdown of Scotland Office expenditure for hospitality purposes on events hosted by each Minister in each of the last 12 months is as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Date Event Minister Cost (£) 
			 January 2012 Post Office roundtable Secretary of State 53 
			  Stakeholder dinner Secretary of State 472 
			  Burns Night event, Dover House Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 3,230 
			     
			 February 2012 Lunch Meeting with Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 60 
			  Big Society event, Girvan Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 18 
			     
			 March 2012 Big Society event, Perth Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 470 
			  National Youth Unemployment Convention Secretary of State 3,745 
			  Scottish Business Board Secretary of State 159 
			     
			 May 2012 Scotland Act Reception Secretary of State 3,583 
			  Energy Summit Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 159 
			  Green Energy Sectoral Dinner Secretary of State 520 
			     
			 June 2012 Trooping the Colour Reception Secretary of State 5,663 
			  Constitutional Reception Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 21 
			  Armed Forces Day Reception Secretary of State 976 
			     
			 July 2012 Olympics Reception Secretary of State 3,651 
			     
			 August 2012 Meeting with International Culture Ministers Secretary of State 1,029 
			  Edinburgh Festivals Reception Secretary of State 1,405 
			     
			 October 2012 Constitutional Policy Meeting Secretary of State 262 
			     
			 November 2012 Financial Services Sectoral Dinner Secretary of State 1,314 
			  St Andrew's Address Secretary of State 428 
			  Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's Lunch Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State(1) 2,394 
			     
			 December 2012 USA and Canada Trip Secretary of State 1,471 
			 (1) This event was incorrectly reported in my answer of 16 January 2013 as having been hosted by the Secretary of State. 
		
	
	All expenditure incurred is in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Social Rented Housing

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of households in the social rented sector in Scotland where (a) one bedroom or (b) two or more bedrooms are unoccupied.

Michael Moore: The Department for Work and Pensions’ impact assessment, published on 28 June 2012, provides estimates of the number of people affected who live in the social rented sector in Scotland and the degree of under-occupation. The impact assessment can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) total floor space and (b) floor space measured in square metres per full-time equivalent post is of properties used by his Department.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) occupy space in four buildings. Details of floor space and square metres per full-time equivalent (FTE) post are as follows:
	3 Whitehall Place, London—DECC occupy the entire building measuring 8,768 square metres. This equates to 7.4 square metres per FTE post.
	55 Whitehall, London—DECC occupy the entire building measuring 1,710 square metres. This equates to 8.4 square metres per FTE post.
	1 Victoria Street, London—DECC are minor occupiers of this building, holding 414 square metres. This equates to 3.7 square metres per FTE post. This figure refers only to the space occupied by desks used by DECC and not the surrounding space of the larger building, including break-out areas etc.
	Atholl House, Aberdeen—DECC are minor occupiers of this building, holding 1,408 square metres. This equates to 14.9 square metres per FTE post.

Buildings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the names and locations are of all properties used by officials of his Department; whether those properties are (a) owned by the Department, (b) leased by the Department and (c) subject to a private finance initiative agreement; when existing lease agreements relating to such properties are due to expire; and what the total floor space is of each property.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) occupies four properties as follows:
	3 Whitehall Place, London—On leasehold expiring 23 June 2029 and measuring 8,768 square metres.
	55 Whitehall, London—On Crown Estate freehold expiring 4 April 2070 and measuring 1,710 square metres.
	1 Victoria Street, London—Building belonging to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) with whom DECC have a memorandum of terms of occupancy (MOTO) to occupy 414 square metres from 1 February 2012 until 31 March 2014.
	Atholl House, Guild Street, Aberdeen—Multi-occupancy building where DECC have a leasehold for 1,408 square metres expiring 18 May 2016.

Fuel Poverty: Kingston upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in (a) Hull and (b) Kingston upon Hull North constituency who were living in fuel poverty in each of the last five years; and how many such households will be eligible for assistance under the Government's proposals for an energy company obligation.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at household level. DECC has produced estimates of local area fuel poverty for 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 (the latest year available). No estimate was produced for 2007. The figures for Kingston upon Hull North constituency and Kingston upon Hull are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Kingston upon Hull North constituency Kingston upon Hull 
			 2010 6,681 19,017 
			 2009 8,103 23,231 
			 2008 7,539 21,375 
			 2006 6,568 17,580 
		
	
	We do not have data relating to eligibility for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) for any given constituency or local authority area. ECO contains three separate obligations, two of which are designed to support low income households. The ECO Affordable Warmth obligation supports means-tested benefit recipients in private, tenure properties. The Impact Assessment published estimates the total size of the eligible pool for this part of the policy as some 2.7 million households in Great Britain:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42984/5533-final-stage-impact-assessment-for-the-green-deal-a.pdf
	The Carbon Saving Communities obligation under ECO will support those living in low income areas. A full list of eligible areas has been published and is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48405/5536-carbon-saving-community-obligation-rural-and-low-.pdf
	ECO is expected to deliver support to some 230,000 low income and vulnerable households each year, accounting for some £540 million of the total £1.3 billion annual investment.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how the £600 million funding allocated to the Green Deal by the Green Investment Bank will be spent.

Gregory Barker: £600 million is the upper limit of total public investment from all sources that can be made to support the Green Deal over the next five years, under the terms set out by the European Commission. Any investment will be to ensure that customers have access to competitive finance for their Green Deals.

Solar Power: Manufacturing Industries

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many people are employed in solar photovoltaic manufacturing in the UK;
	(2)  what proportion of employment in the UK solar photovoltaic industry is in manufacturing.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold the information requested on employment in PV manufacturing in the UK.

Uranium

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of how many years' supply of uranium exists in global reserves.

John Hayes: The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) undertake a regular and comprehensive analysis of world uranium reserves and envisaged global demand. Their findings are made available every two years in their publication “Uranium: Resources, Production and Demand (The Red Book)”.
	The latest edition, published in 2011, concluded that total identified global resources are sufficient for over 100 years of supply, based on current requirements. A further edition is expected this year.

Wind Power

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of wind turbines accredited at 500kw are based on designs capable of producing more than 500kw.

John Hayes: The Department does not hold this information. There are 37 turbines within the relevant band (>100 kW to 500 kW), representing 1% of wind installations installed under the scheme.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 34W, on Afghanistan, if she will place a copy of the report on proposals for the Bost Agri-Business Park in the Library.

Justine Greening: The Department does not publish such internal reports.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 35W, on Afghanistan, which official received the consultant's report on the Bost Agri-Business Park.

Justine Greening: The report was received by DFID's senior representative in the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, column 35W, on Afghanistan, which official authorised her Department's investment in the Bost Agri-Business Park.

Justine Greening: Authorisation was given by a deputy director, in line with delegated authority limits at the time.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of (a) the situation of women in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and (b) their exposure to sexual violence; and what humanitarian intervention the UK is making to improve the safety and security of women in DRC.

Justine Greening: DFID recently undertook an assessment of the situation of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Women and girls suffer high levels of poverty and have limited access to formal employment and economic assets such as cash and credit. Violence against women and girls is widespread yet prevention mechanisms and services for survivors are limited outside conflict-affected areas.
	A significant proportion (£6 million) of the additional £18 million humanitarian assistance that DFID contributed in response to the recent M23 crisis includes assistance to victims of rape, as well as work with armed groups and security forces to raise awareness of their responsibilities under international Humanitarian Law to spare civilians from acts of violence.
	DFID is developing a new programme that will test different approaches to meeting the needs of women and girls in the DRC and will improve the evidence base on what actions are effective, to improve the quality of future programming.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will increase humanitarian funding to (a) Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) the North Kivu region to meet growing needs.

Justine Greening: In November 2012 I committed £18 million in additional humanitarian support to address growing needs in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resulting from the recent conflict. The majority of this additional funding will be spent in North Kivu, and in neighbouring areas most affected by the M23 crisis. This is in addition to our on-going humanitarian assistance to the DRC of around £27 million per year. The additional funding will deliver assistance to those affected by the conflict, including the following:
	100,000 people provided with enough food to last three months;
	134,000 people reached with water, sanitation, shelter, essential household items and emergency education;
	11,000 severely malnourished children receiving lifesaving treatment;
	1.2 million children vaccinated against measles and other diseases;
	10,000 complicated births assisted;
	Treatment for 80% of reported cholera cases in target zone;
	Medical assistance, psychological and economic support to victims of sexual violence;
	£500,000 to the International Rescue Committee for an emergency gender-based violence response in North and South Kivu, for six months and we have provided £5.5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for protection work including assistance to victims of sexual violence and work with armed groups to reduce the incidence of rape as a weapon of war.

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate she has made of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Alan Duncan: DFID is responsible for a wide range of statutory functions and obligations relating to the alleviation of global poverty, providing where appropriate development assistance to the British Overseas Territories, and providing humanitarian assistance. Full details on the Department's responsibilities and its implementation are available in the Department's published Business Plan, available at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/DFIDbusiness-plan2012.pdf
	Information on the full range of DFID's responsibilities, and expenditure on delivering them, is available through DFID's annual report and accounts, available at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/departmental-report/2012/Annual-report-accounts-2011-12.pdf

Developing Countries: Multinational Companies

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that multinational companies pay taxes in those developing countries in which they operate.

Justine Greening: The Government are committed to supporting developing countries to access sustainable sources of revenue and collect the tax they are due. DFID's work with partner countries actively helps developing countries to establish and maintain effective tax systems. The UK is a strong supporter of improving tax information exchange and also provides funding for assistance on Transfer Pricing in a number of developing countries. The UK's G8 presidency will focus on strengthening international tax standards and working towards greater tax information exchange.

Mali

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she is having with ministerial colleagues to ensure the humanitarian consequences of the Mali conflict and refugee crisis are addressed.

Alan Duncan: The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), regularly meets ministerial colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), to discuss key topical issues, including the current situation in Mali.
	She is also in regular contact with the European Commissioner for International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response to discuss the European Commission's ongoing plans for providing support to Mali and how to encourage a wider donor response. She has similar such meetings with UN counterparts.
	She met her European counterparts at the Informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers in Dublin earlier this week, where she pressed for a wider European response to the humanitarian crisis in Mali and the Sahel.

North Africa

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent in North Africa in each year since 2003; and how much she intends to spend in that region in each of the next three years.

Alan Duncan: DFID spent the following in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) in bilateral aid since 2003 (per financial year):
	
		
			 Financial year Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2003-04 3.49 
			 2004-05 3.29 
			 2005-06 0.49 
			 2006-07 0.52 
			 2007-08 0.00 
			 2008-09 0.63 
			 2009-10 0.66 
			 2010-11 10.28 
			 2011-12 7.72 
		
	
	DFID currently provides funding to North African countries through the regional Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), set up in response to the Arab Spring to help fulfil citizens' demands for economic growth and job creation. Our regional programmes focus on Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa, but also include Jordan. The tri-departmental Conflict Pool, to which DFID contributes alongside the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will also fund projects in North Africa (Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) over the next three years.

North Africa

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effect of military operations in North Africa on the UK's aid contributions to that region.

Alan Duncan: DFID's work in North Africa comprises of political and economic reform via the UK Arab Partnership in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Jordan and long-term programmes assist stability and broader security through the UK Conflict Pool. Military operations in the region have had no effect on our UK aid contributions.

Procurement

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 645W, on procurement, how many people are employed in the Procurement Group; whether all staff of the Procurement Group are employed by her Department; and who has overall management responsibility for the Procurement Group.

Justine Greening: The Procurement Group (PrG) currently has 55 full-time equivalents. Not all are employed by the Department. The Director General of the Corporate Performance Group has management board responsibility for the Procurement Group.

Procurement

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 645W, on procurement, on how many occasions it has been agreed that a supplier contract of a monetary value of over £1,000 does not require a competitive tendering process since 2010.

Justine Greening: To provide information on how many contracts in excess of £1,000 have not required a competitive tendering process would incur disproportionate costs.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many regulations her Department has repealed in the last six months; and what the estimated cost-saving has been of each such repeal.

Alan Duncan: The Department has no regulatory function.

Sahel

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the UK proposes to take to increase the resilience of communities in Mali and other Sahelian countries to drought and food shortages.

Alan Duncan: The Sahel is locked into a cycle of humanitarian crises due to chronic vulnerabilities that require long term solutions to stop people slipping to future food insecurity.
	The UK is currently supporting improved resilience in the Sahel through our core funding to the World Bank, United Nations and European Commission which among other things funds social protection and livelihoods support programmes in Sahelian countries.

Travel

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on (a) the Government Car Service and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel in each year since 2009-10; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: Details for the cost of ministerial cars are published in the annual written Ministerial Statement, details of which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses.
	
		
			 Period DFID expenditure (£) 
			 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 256,656.35 
			 1 April 2010 to 12 May 2010 33,212.22 
		
	
	
		
			 13 May 2010 to 31 March 2011 174,565.37 
			 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 80,084.35 
		
	
	Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in the normal way later this year.
	Within the Department for International Development's information system it is not possible to disaggregate spending on taxis between Ministers and civil servants. It is therefore not possible to obtain this information without incurring disproportionate cost, however ministerial use of taxis is negligible.

CABINET OFFICE

Business Appointments Advisory Committee

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on which occasions the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has refused to authorise applications from former Government Ministers for external appointments in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Information about the Advisory Committee's advice on applications from former Ministers under the Business Appointment Rules is set out in the Advisory Committee's annual reports which are accessible at:
	http://acoba.independent.gov.uk

Data Protection

Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the protective markings on the Government's IA Standard No 6 Protecting Personal Data and Managing Information Risk are; and if he will place a copy of such protective markings in the Library.

Chloe Smith: HMG's IA Standard No 6 Protecting Personal Data and Managing Information Risk is protectively marked UNCLASSIFIED.
	A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Government Departments: Procurement

Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales have been successful in winning contracts to supply Government Departments;
	(2)  what the total value is of contracts to supply Government Departments won by small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales;
	(3)  what proportion of the total value of contracts to supply Government Departments has been won by small and medium-sized enterprises based in Wales.

Chloe Smith: Direct spend with SMEs across Government continues to increase quarter by quarter. Contract award notices for all contracts over £10,000 are publicly available on Contracts Finder. At the present time we are unable to sample these data by the location of the successful company.

Life Expectancy: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the life expectancy at birth was in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the life expectancy at birth was in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years (143487).
	Life expectancy figures for parliamentary constituencies are not readily available. However, figures are available for local authority districts, unitary authorities, counties and regions within the UK.
	Life expectancy figures are calculated as three year rolling averages. The table below provides the period life expectancy at birth for males and females in Yorkshire and the Humber for the period 2004-2006 to 2008-2010 (the latest figures available),
	Period life expectancies at birth for males and females for all local authority districts, unitary authorities, counties and regions in England and Wales, for rolling three-year periods from 1991-1993 onwards are published on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health4/life-expec-at-birth-age-65/index.html
	
		
			 Life expectancy at birth in Yorkshire and the Humber, 2004-06 to 2008-10(1, 2, 3) 
			  Years of life 
			 Region/Period Female Male 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber   
			 2004-06 81.0 76.6 
			 2005-07 81.1 76.9 
			 2006-08 81.3 77.1 
			 2007-09 81.5 77.4 
			 2008-10 81.8 77.7 
			 (1 )Period life expectancy at birth is an estimate of the average number of years a newborn baby would survive if he or she experienced the area's age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life. The figure reflects mortality among those living in the area in each time period, rather than mortality among those born in each area. It is not therefore the number of years a baby born in the area in each time period could actually expect to live, both because the death rates of the area are likely to change in the future and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives. (2 )Using boundaries as of October 2010 for all the years shown. (3 )Three year rolling averages, based on deaths registered in each year and mid-year population estimates. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Chloe Smith: As part of the Government's transparency agenda, details of all new contracts let since January 2011 and with a value of £10,000 or more, have been published on Contracts Finder as per Cabinet Office policy:
	https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: USA

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel of each rank are stationed in the US, including those on exchange.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Ranks Total 
			 OF 8 (Lieutenant General, Vice Admiral or Air Marshal) 1 
			 OF 7 (Major General, Rear Admiral or Air Vice Marshal) 2 
			 OF 6 (Brigadier, Commodore or Air Commodore) 5 
			 OF 5 (Colonel, Captain RN or Group Captain) 36 
			 OF 4 (Lieutenant Colonel, Commander or Wing Commander) 100 
			 OF 3 (Major, Lieutenant Commander or Squadron Leader) 123 
			 OF 2 (Captain, Lieutenant RN or Flight Lieutenant) 122 
			 OF 1 (Lieutenant, Mid Shipman or Flying Officer) 1 
			 OR 9 (Warrant Officer Class 1 (Army and Navy) or Warrant Officer (RAF)) 18 
			 OR 8 (Warrant Officer Class 2) 6 
			 OR 7 (Staff Sergeant, Colour Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer or Flight Sergeant) 53 
			 OR 6 (Sergeant or Petty Officer) 45 
			 OR 4 (Corporal or Leading Hand) 51 
			 OR 2 (Private, Marine, Able Seaman or Senior Aircraftman) 19

NATO: Armed Forces

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of service personnel of each NATO rank have taken premature voluntary release in each of the last five years.

Philip Dunne: The requested information is provided in the following tables. We are unable to provide data for all services for 2008 because of data quality issues with army outflow data prior to April 2008. Table 1, therefore, provides the combined Naval Service and RAF voluntary outflow figures for 2008. Table 2 contains combined data for all three services for the remainder of the period requested.
	
		
			 Table 1: Trained UK Regular Naval Service and RAF(1) rank structure(2) by Voluntary Outflow (3) 
			  2008 
			  VO Average trained strength(4) VO rate (%)(5) 
			 Total VO 3,950 74,090 5.3 
			     
		
	
	
		
			 Officers 510 14,810 4.3 
			 OF-9 — — 0.0 
			 OF-8 — 10 3.4 
			 OF-7 — 60 3.0 
			 OF-6 10 170 5.1 
			 OF-5 30 590 4.9 
			 OF-4 110 2,360 4.9 
			 OF-3 170 4,850 4.6 
			 OF-2 180 6,440 4.5 
			 OF-1 / OF (D) — 320 0.6 
			     
			 Other ranks 3,430 59,280 5.5 
			 OR-9 100 1,930 4.2 
			 OR-8 50 780 2.2 
			 OR-7 490 7,480 4.2 
			 OR-6 480 10,960 3.4 
			 OR-4 500 14,870 4.3 
			 OR-3 40 580 8.3 
			 OR-1/OR-2 1,790 22,670 7.2 
			 “—” denotes zero or rounded to zero. (1 )Trained UK Regular Forces does not include Gurkhas, full-time reserve personnel and mobilised reservists. Army exit reasons including voluntary outflow are not available for 2008 due to data quality issues. (2 )NATO Rank Codes are presented here. Their equivalence in UK Service Rank (Army) is as follows: OF-9 General; OF-8 Lieutenant General; OF-7 Major General; OF-6 Brigadier; OF-5 Colonel; OF-4 Lieutenant Colonel; OF-3 Major; OF-2 Captain; OF-1 Lieutenant/2nd Lieutenant; OF (D) Officer Designate; OR-9 Warrant Officer Class-1; OR-8 Warrant Officer Class-2: OR-7 Staff Sergeant; OR-6 Sergeant; OR-4 Corporal; OR-3 Lance Corporal; OR-2 Private (Classes 1 to 3); OR-1 Private (Class 4)/Junior. (3)( )Voluntary Outflow is defined as all exits from trained personnel which are voluntarily generated by the individual before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period. (4) Average trained strength is calculated as a 12-month average. (5)( )VO rate is the percentage of the trained UK Regular Forces that left as VO at each NATO rank. Source: DASA(Tri Service). 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Trained UK Regular Forces rank structure by Voluntary Outflow 
			  VO Average trained strength VO rate (%) 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012(1) 2009 2010 2011 2012(1) 2009 2010 2011 2012(1) 
			 Total VO 6,810 6,480 7,390 8,130 169,110 173,500 171,580 164,740 4.0 3.7 4.3 4.9 
			              
			 Officers 890 810 940 1,010 28,670 29,020 28,860 27,810 3.1 2.8 3.2 3.6 
			 OF-9 — — — — 10 10 10 10 — — — — 
			 OF-8 — — — — 30 30 20 30 — — — — 
			 OF-7 — — — — 100 100 100 100 — — — — 
			 OF-6 30 20 20 20 360 350 340 330 7.8 6.2 6.7 7.9 
			 OF-5 50 50 60 60 1,210 1,220 1,200 1,150 4.5 4.0 5.4 5.9 
			 OF-4 170 140 160 130 4,120 4,130 4,090 3,940 4.1 3.4 3.9 4.1 
			 OF-3 310 250 330 280 9,520 9,550 9,400 9,040 3.3 2.6 3.5 3.6 
			 OF-2 320 340 350 430 11,220 11,380 11,520 11,320 2.8 3.0 3.0 3.7 
			 OF-1 / OF (D) — 10 10 80 2,100 2,240 2,170 1,900 — 0.4 0.4 0.3 
			              
			 Other ranks 5,920 5,680 6,450 7,120 140,440 144,490 142,720 136,930 4.2 3.9 4.5 5.2 
			 OR-9 120 160 190 180 3,670 3,600 3,410 3,200 3.3 4.3 5.5 5.8 
			 OR-8 120 170 200 250 5,560 5,530 5,330 5,060 2.2 3.1 3.8 5.0 
			 OR-7 430 380 470 500 13,250 13,140 12,770 12,180 3.2 2.9 3.7 4.1 
			 OR-6 590 510 580 690 20,800 20,850 20,300 19,370 2.8 2.4 2.9 3.6 
			 OR-4 1,040 870 1,000 1,190 29,540 29,960 29,570 28,520 3.5 2.9 3.4 4.2 
			 OR-3 1,030 870 1,000 1,040 16,270 16,510 16,820 16,720 6.4 5.3 5.9 6.2 
			 OR-1 / OR-2 2,590 2,720 3,020 3,260 51,340 54,890 54,540 51,880 5.0 5.0 5.5 6.3 
			 (1)( )1 January 2012 to 30 November 2012.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the Royal Navy has expressed an interest in manning one or more newly-constructed offshore patrol vessels;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential utility of offshore patrol vessels in the future surface fleet.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 13 February 2013
	The role of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) is to ensure the Government can exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the territorial and economic waters of the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories in order to defend their integrity and protect offshore interests. The Royal Navy currently mans and operates three River Class OPVs and HMS Clyde which is an OPV (Helicopter), a total of four. We have no plans to operate or man additional OPVs.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Local Television: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress is being made on local television in Nottingham.

Edward Vaizey: We are very pleased with the progress made to put in place the structures to support the delivery of new local TV services.
	In January, Ofcom awarded the local TV multiplex licence to Comux.
	Sixteen of the 19 local TV licences in Phase 1 have already been awarded—including the licence for Nottingham to Notts TV in November last year.
	Ofcom is now in the final stages of awarding the remaining Phase 1 licences and anticipates that the first local TV services will be able to start broadcasting by the end of this year.

Creative Industries

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the skills required within the creative industries.

Edward Vaizey: The Creative Industries Council's Skills group, led by Creative Skillset, produced a report which made 17 recommendations to boost skills and talent in the creative industries in January 2012. Key recommendations, welcomed by both industry and Government included reform of the ICT in the curriculum, a promotional campaign to raise the profile of apprenticeships, and a call to improve the quality of industry internships.

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in the Government Equalities Office.

Maria Miller: The Department has no employees with a zero-hours contract.

Food: Waste

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much surplus food was thrown away by her Department in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the 2013 World Report by Human Rights Watch, what steps he has taken following allegations of serious human rights violations in Bangladesh, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances of political activists and violence against women.

Alistair Burt: We continue to press the Bangladeshi Government at all opportunities to improve the human rights situation in their country.
	We welcome the Bangladeshi Government's assurances that they are committed to protecting human rights and recognise the positive progress that has been made across a range of social development indicators. But allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance and violence against women are deeply concerning. We call on the Bangladeshi Government to conduct an impartial, credible, and transparent investigation into all such allegations.
	The Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi, will be raising human rights issues when she visits the country later this month.

Bangladesh

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the issue of human rights in Bangladesh with his Bangladeshi counterparts.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last discussed human rights in Bangladesh with the Bangladeshi Government in July when he met with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.
	The Senior Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi, raised the issue of human rights violations in Bangladesh with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Dr Dipu Moni, when she met with her in December. More recently, our high commissioner in Dhaka raised among other things, the International Crimes Tribunal; disappearances, including the specific case of Ilias Ali; violence against women; political violence; the Rohingyas; and abuses in rule of law when he met with the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary on 28 January.
	Human rights remain a crucial component of our bilateral and multilateral discussions with Bangladesh. We also provide a range of human rights assistance on rule of law and democracy to Bangladesh as part of our capacity building programmes. Such assistance is fully in line with UK values and international human rights standards.

Bangladesh

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current human rights situation in Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: We strongly condemn instances of violence and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their religion. Reports of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, attacks on women, and religious intolerance are deeply concerning. The promotion of human rights, including religious freedom, is at the heart of this Government's foreign policy.
	We call on the Bangladesh Government to conduct an impartial, credible, and transparent investigation into allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
	Human rights are core to our foreign policy and a crucial component of our bilateral and multilateral discussions with Bangladesh. For that reason, we provide a range of human rights assistance on rule of law and democracy to Bangladesh as part of our capacity building programmes. Such assistance is fully in line with UK values and international human rights standards.

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which companies took part in the UK trade mission to Burma in December 2012.

Hugo Swire: Thirteen UK companies participated in the UK Trade & Investment trade mission to Burma in December 2012. They were:
	Allen & Overy
	Aggreko
	Barclays Bank
	CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
	HTSPE Ltd
	Mott Macdonald
	Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC)
	Norton Rose
	Pearson Qualifications International
	Rolls-Royce
	Standard Chartered Bank
	Technical and Vocational Education and Training UK (TVET UK)
	Warwickshire College
	The trade mission was focused on the power sector with the aim of helping Burma strengthen its ability to meet the power and electricity generation needs of the people of Burma.

Indonesia

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had on increasing violations of freedom of religion or belief in Indonesia during the recent state visit by the President of Indonesia to the UK; and what steps he is taking to offer assistance to Indonesia to help address rising religious intolerance.

Hugo Swire: The British Government remain concerned about individuals and groups in Indonesia who are denied the right to freedom of religion or belief, or who face discrimination and persecution. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed maintaining progress on human rights with their respective counterparts, President Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Natalegawa. Following on from the state visit, the UK and Indonesia have agreed to work together on interfaith dialogue.
	Our embassy in Jakarta frequently raises freedom of religion issues with the Government of Indonesia, most recently in December 2012 at meetings at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The deputy ambassador also recently met with the Chairman of the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) on 16 January 2013 where incidents of violations of freedom of religion were discussed. Embassy staff are in regular contact with members of civil society and members of religious groups facing difficulties—including representatives from the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor where the Mayor has blocked a permit for a new place of worship despite a Supreme Court ruling in their favour. In the UK's statement for Indonesia's Universal Periodic Review in May 2012, we encouraged the Indonesian Government to tackle violence against minority faiths, ensure that those who perpetrate these acts are brought to justice, and to promote a climate where such incidents do not reoccur. We also continue to encourage Indonesia to accept a visit by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion.
	Our embassy is using project funds to support a civil society dialogue with the police on religious freedom, run by the non-governmental organisation, Kontras Indonesia. We are also supporting a project which aims to increase understanding of and tolerance for religious freedom through radio, TV, public discussion and social media.

Palestinians

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Palestinian Authority that reported remarks by Mayor Mustafa Fuqaha that Israeli security forces deliberately target children be retracted.

Alistair Burt: We do have concerns about the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli detention. However we consider that the reported comments are inaccurate and unhelpful. We have a regular dialogue with the Palestinian Authority in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence and to avoid anything which stirs up hatred and prejudice. We most recently raised the issue of incitement with Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad's Office in January 2013.

Palestinians

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the naming of cultural and sporting events in Palestine after Palestinian terrorists.

Alistair Burt: As the Prime Minister made clear in his speech to the United Jewish Israel Appeal on 15 October 2012, the UK will not tolerate incitement to terrorism and cannot support those who name sporting events after suicide bombers.
	We have a regular dialogue with the Palestinian Authority in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence and to avoid anything which further stirs up hatred and prejudice. We most recently raised the issue of incitement with Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad’s office in January 2013.

Palestinians

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on reports that Fatah's official Lebanese Facebook page published images of a mother dressing her young son with explosives.

Alistair Burt: Officials at the British Consulate Jerusalem are looking into these reports. If proven correct it would be a matter of serious concern. The Government condemn the use of racist and hateful language, and most recently raised the issue of incitement with Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad's office in January 2013. We deplore incitement on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any comments that could encourage violence or stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect.

Palestinians

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority after reports that Fatah's official Facebook page published images of children carrying weapons.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of these reports, and have asked officials at the British Consulate in Jerusalem to look into them. We deplore incitement on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any comments or approaches that could encourage violence or stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect. We do not hesitate to raise these issues as necessary. Most recently we raised the issue of incitement with Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad's office in January 2013.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many regulations his Department has repealed in the last six months; and what the estimated cost-saving has been of each such repeal.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office rarely sponsors regulations and has not been responsible for repealing any regulations in the last six months. It was responsible for revoking 11 Orders in Council relating to the implementation of sanctions measures in the overseas territories since July 2012. Since these measures did not apply in the UK, no cost savings for the UK are anticipated from these revocations.

Travel

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on (a) the Government Car Service and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: For spend on the Government Car Service for ministerial travel, I refer the hon. Member to the information on departmental spend published in the annual written ministerial statement, details for which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses:
	2009-10
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101028/wmstext/101028m0001.htm#10102827000372
	2010-11
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120116/wmstext/120116m0001.htm#12011611000194
	2011-12
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121220/wmstext/121220m0001.htm#12122056000216
	Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in the normal way later this year.
	Additionally, in 2010-11, we spent £76,936 through FCO Services on the London Car Service. In 2011-12 this spend was £148,850 and in the current financial year to December 2012, we have spent £111,931. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office moved from using only the Government Car Service to using the London Car Service (run by FCO Services) in September 2010.
	Taxis are only used for ministerial travel in exceptional circumstances, where the Government Car Service or London Car Service is not available. To collate information on spend would incur disproportionate cost.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much affordable housing has been built in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on affordable housing supply by local authority district are available in tables 1008 and 1011, at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	These total figures include both new build housing, which accounts for around 85% of additional affordable housing over the last five years, and acquisitions from the private sector.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period by his Department were paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Brandon Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 473W.

Fire Services: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the effect of reductions in funding for fire and rescue services on national resilience and firefighter availability in the event of a major national emergency.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 126W.

Homelessness: Bolton

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of children who are homeless in (a) Bolton and (b) Bolton South East constituency; and what steps he is taking to reduce these figures.

Mark Prisk: As at 30 September 2012, 64 dependent or expected children were in temporary accommodation as members of households accommodated by Bolton metropolitan borough council. This includes households placed by the council in accommodation within another local authority area, for which separate figures are not collected.
	To place these figures in context, at the same point over the last four years, the number of children in temporary accommodation was 58 in 2011, 61 in 2010, 46 in 2009 and 68 in 2008.
	Looked at another way, of the 83 households accepted as owed the main homelessness duty in Bolton between 1 July and 30 September 2012, 48 included at least one dependent child.
	The Department does not collect corresponding figures to those above for individual parliamentary constituencies, except where they happen to be coterminous with the area of a local authority. This is not the case for the Bolton and Bolton South East constituencies.
	We are determined to tackle the problem of homeless families. So, from 9 November, local authorities have new powers under the Localism Act 2011 to use good-quality private rented sector accommodation to end the main homelessness duty. Families will no longer need to be placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for social housing to become available.
	At the same time, we have also put in place extra protection for the most vulnerable. The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 will help prevent the use of temporary accommodation which is a long distance from the family’s previous home and community.
	For households already in temporary accommodation the local authority has a duty (under section 193 of the Housing Act 1996) to find that family settled accommodation. Local authorities should continue to work with these households to discuss alternative housing options as they become available.

Mayors: Tower Hamlets

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what sanctions his Department is considering following the report by Ofcom into the political broadcasts of the Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Brandon Lewis: In its ruling last month, Ofcom censured five television channels for running advertisements for the Mayor of Tower Hamlets which contravened the prohibition on political advertising. It noted that one of the television channels would have been fined with a “substantial statutory sanction” had it not already ceased trading and surrendered its broadcasting licence. The political advertisements were funded by taxpayers' money.
	Tower Hamlets' political broadcasts were a breach of the Communications Act 2003, the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising and the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity. Although Ofcom has the power to censure or fine broadcasters, it has no power to take any action against an advertiser.
	The use of taxpayers' money for political campaigning is simply not acceptable, and this is in addition to Tower Hamlets' disregard of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity through its continuing publication of its weekly propaganda newspaper, East End Life. Such actions are not just a misuse of public funds, they are ultimately harmful to local democracy and an independent, free press. It is also further evidence of a worrying pattern of divisive community politics and mismanagement of council staff and resources by the mayoral administration.
	We are looking at putting the Publicity Code on a statutory basis to address this corrosive abuse of taxpayers' money.

Trading Standards

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many trading standards officers there were in England and Wales in 2008; how many trading standards officers there are in England and Wales; how many trading standards officers work on meat testing; and how many tests on meat were conducted in each of the last three years.

Brandon Lewis: The information requested is not held by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The Food Standards Agency is responsible for food safety and hygiene in England and Wales.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Security

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost is of security screening of (a) flight crew and (b) cabin crew at airports in the UK.

Simon Burns: Security screening is carried out and financed by airports. The Department for Transport therefore does not hold this information.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the amount that his Department will spend on High Speed 2 in each financial year from now to its completion.

Simon Burns: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 1 February 2013, Official Report, column 1006W.

ICT

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) start date, (b) planned completion date, (c) expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) expected cost was of each information technology project with a value in excess of £1 million undertaken by his Department and its executive agencies since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: “Project” is defined as delivering a specific new service, capability or product. Activity to extend or replace outsourced or managed IT services has been excluded. The following is a list of the IT projects in the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies with values in excess of £1 million since 2010:
	
		
			 Area/ agency Project (a) Start date (b) Planned completion date (c) Expected completion date (d) Planned cost (e) Expected cost 
			 DfTc DfT(c) Replacement telephony service March 2013 31 March 2018 31 March 2018 £1.040 million £1.040 million 
			 VOSA Managed Disaster Recovery Services February 2012 September 2012 July 2013 £1.17 million (plus £580,000 support charges) £1.17 million (plus 400,000 support charges) 
			 HA HAWCS (HAWIS: Highways Agency Weather Central System) 5 August 2011 4 August 2013 4 August 2013 £1.611 million £1.611 million 
			 HA Highways Agency Traffic Information System (HATRIS) 12 December 2011 12 December 2014 12 December 2014 £1.91 million £1.91 million 
			 DSA Online test booking service for the Agency’s business customers. 1 September 2010 26 September 2012 22 October 2012 (actual go live date) £2.171 million £2.186 million 
			 DVLA Infrastructure Environment Provisioning - Zoning 5 April 2010 30 June 2012 30 April 2013 £1.979 million £2.37 million 
			 DVLA Tachonet 1 July 2010 31 January 2011 16 May 2012 £2.11 million £2.568 million 
			 MCA Automatic Identification System (AIS) March 2012 March 2015 March 2015 £2.705 million £2.705 million 
			 HA HAGDMS Software Engineering, Second Line User Support & Training 30 March 2010 31 March 2014 31 March 2014 £2.867 million £2.867 million 
			 MCA Integrated Coastguard Communications System (ICCS) December 2012 March 2015 March 2015 £5.4 million £5.4 million 
			 HA 2/554 Traffic Manager Airwaves Service 21 December 2012 31 October 2014 31 October 2014 £6.1 million £6.1 million 
			 DVLA Vehicle Systems Software (VSS) Stack Refresh 1 June 2010 11 May 2012 11 May 2012 £3.5 million £6.899 million 
			 DVLA Data Centre Stabilisation 1 November 2010 31 December 2012 31 March 2013 £4.564 million £7.408 million 
			 HA National Traffic Information Service (NTIS_ITT) 27 May 2011 26 May 2018 26 May 2018 £57 million £57 million 
		
	
	The following DVLA projects are currently ongoing and still have elements to be commercialised. Cost information which is considered commercial in confidence and could prejudice negotiations with suppliers has not been included. The date information in relation to these projects is set out as follows:
	
		
			 Agency Project (a) Start Date (b) Planned Completion Date (c) Expected Completion Date 
			 DVLA Change of Vehicle Keeper 1 April 2011 1 October 2013 1 December 2014 
			 DVLA Personalised Registration Online 1 April 2011 1 October 2013 1 December 2014 
			 DVLA Contract Let Programme 1 March 2011 30 September 2015 30 September 2015 
			 DVLA Electronic Data Services (EDS) Migration 31 January 2011 31 December 2012 1 June 2013 
			 DVLA Electronic Links, Implementation & Strategic Enablement (ELISE): Tech Refresh 1 August 2011 31 December 2012 1 June 2013 
			 DVLA Electronic Point Of Sale Novell Decommissioning 1 June 2012 31 December 2014 31 December 2014 
			 DVLA Firewalls 24 June 2010 20 June 2013 20 June 2013 
			 DVLA Fleets 1 April 2011 1 December 2013 1 December 2014 
			 DVLA Image Capture Data Archive +: Key From Image Refresh 3 June 2010 31 October 2012 31 March 2013 
		
	
	
		
			 DVLA Indefinite Statutory Off Road Notification (iSORN) 27 June 2012 31 January 2014 31 January 2014 
			 DVLA Infrastructure Environment Provisioning - Service 5 April 2010 31 March 2012 31 March 2013 
			 DVLA Insurance Industry Access to Drivers Data (IIADD/Phase 1 Integrated Enquiry Platform) 2 August 2010 11 June 2014 11 June 2014 
			 DVLA Metro Ethernet Router Switches (MERS) 1 November 2011 30 September 2012 30 April 2013 
			 DVLA Modernisation of Network Services 31 January 2011 31 December 20 13 28 February 2014 
			 DVLA Northern Ireland Electronic Vehicle Services (NIEVS) 31 January 2011 17 June 2013 30 December 2013 
			 DVLA Quick Address System (QAS) 1 June 2010 31 July 2013 28 February 2014 
			 DVLA Tacho Migration 1 June 2011 31 July 2013 31 July 2013 
			 DVLA Telecommunications Refresh 26 December 2010 24 June 2013 24 June 2013 
			 DVLA Weblogic Phase 2 - ATOS Link 6 October 2011 30 November 2011 18 March 2013

Large Goods Vehicles

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned on the relationship between (a) HGV density of traffic flows, (b) speed of those traffic flows and (c) accident levels.

Stephen Hammond: The Department commissioned an evaluation of a potential increase in the speed limit of heavy goods vehicles (over 7.5 tonnes) on single carriageway roads, from the current limit of 40 mph.
	The report was published in November 2012 and is available at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heavy-goods-vehicle-speed-limit-increase-evaluation-final-report

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of petrol stations that supply liquid petroleum gas fuel in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles which use liquid petroleum gas on UK roads in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what steps his Department has taken to encourage the use of LPG vehicles;
	(4)  how many vehicles have been converted to use LPG in each of the last five years;
	(5)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the environmental benefits of encouraging the use of LPG in vehicles;
	(6)  what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the tax regime for LPG fuel.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has made no estimate of the number of petrol stations that supply liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
	The numbers of licensed vehicles recorded by DVLA as having a gas-related propulsion code in Great Britain at the end of September 2012 (the latest available figures) and at the end of each of the 5 previous years are shown in the following table. These figures may include vehicles using alternative fuel types other than LPG.
	
		
			 Licensed vehicles with ‘gas'(1) propulsion type, Great Britain 
			 Thousands of vehicles 
			 Date Cars Other vehicles Total 
			 31 Dec 2007 45.1 16.1 61.3 
			 31 Dec 2008 49.6 16.2 65.8 
			 31 Dec 2009 50.9 16.2 67.1 
			 31 Dec 2010 51.0 16.1 67.0 
			 31 Dec 2011 50.0 15.7 65.7 
			 30 Sep 2012 49.8 15.6 65.4 
			 (1) Includes gas, gas bi-fuel, petrol/gas and gas-diesel Source: DfT Vehicle Licensing Statistics, derived from the DVLA vehicle register, an operational database used to handle the licensing of vehicles registered in Great Britain. 
		
	
	Cars that have been constructed or modified to run on gas benefit from a £10 reduction in taxation levels for Alternative Fuel Cars under Vehicle Excise Duty. Owners of LPG cars also benefit from paying lower fuel duty on LPG than would be paid on petrol and diesel. LPG road fuel has a duty reduction worth the equivalent of 35.79p per litre compared with petrol. In addition at Budget 2012 we extended the existing 100% first-year capital allowance for gas refuelling equipment for two years to 31 March 2015.
	The Department does not hold data on how many vehicles have been converted to use LPG in each of the last five years. Grants for LPG conversions were previously available under the PowerShift grant programme. Following a consultation in 2004, in response to which both industry and the previous Government expressed support for a technology-neutral approach (providing incentives for clean, low carbon vehicles irrespective of the technology used), the programme was suspended.
	HM Treasury consults with the Department for Transport and the Department of Energy and Climate Change in determining the overall package of duty rates, and these discussions consider the environmental benefits of support provided through the tax regime.

M180: Road Traffic

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the level of traffic on the M180 motorway over the next 10 years; and what estimate he has made of changes in HGV use of that road over that period.

Stephen Hammond: The average traffic growth for the M180 over the next 10 years is forecast to be 11%. The increase in HGV use over the same period is forecast to grow in line with the overall traffic, ie 11%.
	Currently, HGVs constitute 27% of the traffic on the M180 and that is not expected to change over the next 10 years.

M180: Road Traffic

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what annual traffic flows on the M180 have been in each of the last five years; what the level of HGV use of that road has been in that period; and how many accidents have been recorded on that road in that time.

Stephen Hammond: The annual traffic flows on the M180 are as follows:
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Link Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total Annual total HGV total 
			 J1-0 8,253,927 2,412,438 8,177,825 2,391,931 7,955,723 2,167,741 7,916,120 2,299,648 8,022,153 2,350,554 
			 J1-2 6,750,310 2,149,917 6,614,713 2,106,722 6,412,138 1,891,193 6,442,068 1,986,846 6,531,858 2,017,748 
			 J2-3 6,726,220 1,862,875 6,573,285 1,807,564 6,473,823 1,663,790 6,092,398 1,586,646 n/a n/a 
		
	
	The personal injury accidents (PIAs) data are recorded by the police. This information, once validated, is stored on databases managed by local authorities and at a national level. The number of PIAs on the M180 for each year between 2007 and 2011 is recorded in the following table:
	
		
			  Accidents 
			 2007 35 
			 2008 29 
			 2009 34 
			 2010 42 
			 2011 28

Motor Vehicles: Spare Parts

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the availability and use of counterfeit motor vehicle parts; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of counterfeit motor vehicle parts on the number and severity of road accidents in the UK.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has made no assessment of the availability of counterfeit motor vehicle parts or their effect on the number and severity of road accidents in the UK. The Department commissions the Vehicle Certification Agency to purchase and test certain approved components to ensure conformity with legal minimum standards. This activity does not focus on counterfeit parts, although it is possible that such products could have been tested but not identified as such where they comply with the legal minimum standards.

Motorways

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on research into the potential effect on road safety of the replacement of motorway hard shoulders by refuges; and whether he has made an assessment of such research.

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has completed an assessment of the safety risk for the managed motorways layout all lane running, which includes the permanent conversion of the hard shoulder to a running lane and the inclusion of refuge areas.
	This assessment showed a 15% reduction in safety risk when compared to a dual three lane motorway with hard shoulder. This assessment is contained in the Highways Agency's report ‘Managed Motorways All Lanes Running—Demonstration of Meeting Safety Objective Report’ that is available on the agency website and I have also placed a copy in the Library of the House.
	The safety risk analysis of all lanes running has learnt from the three year safety performance of the active traffic management operation of dynamic hard shoulder running between junctions 3A and 7 of the M42. An assessment of this performance showed that the average number of personal injury accidents reduced from 5.08 per month before the implementation of active traffic management to 2.25 per month following the introduction of hard shoulder running. This represents a 55.7% reduction in accidents.

Roads

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which roads have been reclassified to become part of the core network of nationally important routes in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The strategic national corridors were established in 2009 to define the transport links over which the largest proportion of strategic traffic—that is traffic travelling between the 10 largest urban areas, 10 busiest ports and seven busiest airports in England—moves around the country. The original definition also provided for connectivity between the four nations of the United Kingdom, but there was no specific provision for connecting capital cities.
	In September 2010, the Department launched a 12-week consultation which proposed that the routes linking Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast to the nearest urban strategic destination should be recognised for the strategic connectivity that they provide. Specifically, the consultation identified two additional routes as having national significance: namely the A1 between its junction with the A19 north of Newcastle and the Scottish border, providing a defined link to Edinburgh; and a route between Bootle and the Twelve Quays ferry terminal in Birkenhead, providing connectivity with Belfast. The additional roads, which extended one of the strategic national corridors to connect via Bootle with the Twelve Quays ferry terminal, included:
	the A565 from junction with A5036 in Bootle to A5063 “Leeds Street”;
	the A5063 “Leeds Street” from junction with A565 to A59 “Scotland Road”;
	the A59 “Scotland Road” to “Kingsway Tunnel”;
	the “Kingsway Tunnel” to grade separated junction with A5027;
	the A5027 to junction with A5139;
	the A5139 to A554; and
	the A554 to Twelve Quays Terminal entrance.
	After taking account of the consultation responses, the two additional routes became defined as being of national significance in May 2011.
	There have been no other changes to the definition of the routes of national importance.

Speed Limits: Traffic Lights

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the use of speed control traffic lights which are activated to turn red by drivers going over the speed limit; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: There have been no recent requests to use traffic lights to control speed by turning red when an approaching driver goes over the speed limit.
	Rather than turning lights red to control speed, we advocate the use of ‘green waves' - programming the signals across a network to turn green if traffic approaches at a given speed. As well as controlling speed, this can improve traffic flow and reduce delays.

Travel

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on (a) the Government Car Service and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Information on departmental spend on the Government Car Service is published in the annual written ministerial statement, details of which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses. The spend recorded shows a continuing reduction in the amount spent on official cars for Ministers. Costs to Departments have seen a 49% reduction in the latest figures when compared to those of the previous year and a 72% reduction when compared to the figures for April 2009 to March 2010:
	2009-10
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101028/wmstext/101028m0001.htm# 10102827000372
	2010-11
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120116/wmstext/120116m0001.htm# 12011611000194
	2011-12
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121220/wmstext/121220m0001.htm# 12122056000216
	Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in the normal way later this year.
	DFT Ministers use a mix of ministerial cars and public transport. I regret that the information on other taxi or car services is not held in the format requested.
	In accordance with the Ministerial Code, Ministers in the Department always ensure that they make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013 to the hon. Member for Strangford, Official Report, column 65W, on unmanned air vehicles, what primary and secondary legislation operators are required to take into account when conducting operations using unmanned aerial vehicles in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The use of unmanned aircraft, including remotely piloted aircraft systems, is covered by the Air Navigation Order 2009 and Rules of the Air Regulation 2007. Guidance on the use of such aircraft is contained in the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) publication “CAP 722—Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in UK Airspace” which is available from the CAA website.

West Coast Railway Line

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2013, Official Report, columns 1014-5W, on West Coast Railway line, when he expects to have collected sufficient years of data to enable a meaningful analysis.

Simon Burns: The Department expects to review the available data and consider how best to analyse the effects of the west coast route modernisation during 2013-14.

JUSTICE

Bail

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many placements have been available in bail accommodation funded from the public purse in each of the last three years; and what the average occupancy rate was of such accommodation.

Jeremy Wright: In relation to Bail Accommodation and Support Service accommodation, the figures requested (for the year from 1 September to 31 August) are as follows:
	
		
			  Available BASS bed spaces (placements) Average BASS Occupancy (%) 
			 2011-12 653 77 
			 2010-11 647 76 
			 2009-10 696 57 
		
	
	Defendants on bail may also be housed in approved premises (APs). Bailees represent only a small percentage of the number of AP residents and no places are specifically allocated to them.

Bill of Rights

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Commission on a Bill of Rights will publish the responses it has received to its second public consultation before it publishes its report on a UK Bill of Rights and the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Damian Green: The Commission was set up as an independent body and made its own decisions with regard to its consultations, including whether or not to publish responses.
	Its website contains a list of all those who responded to its second public consultation:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/cbr/consultation-prog
	and also invited those who wanted copies of the responses to contact the Commission.
	The Commission's final report, ‘A UK Bill of Rights: The Choice Before Us’, was published on 18 December 2012 and contains some details of the responses to the second consultation.

Bill of Rights: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Human Rights Commission about a separate Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

Chris Grayling: On the 29 November 2012 the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), met with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Various issues were raised including a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

Community Orders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders have been placed on community payback orders in each probation area in England and Wales for each year since 2008; and how many such offenders reoffended within two years of the completion of the requirements of the order in each such area in each such year.

Jeremy Wright: Proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales are published quarterly, most recently for the period January to December 2010. These statistics provide information on proven reoffending at the national, local authority, prison and probation trust level.
	It is not possible to provide information on the number of offenders who reoffended following the completion of the community payback (unpaid work) requirement of their order because the Ministry's proven reoffending data measure reoffending from the start of a court order. However, for information, we can provide data on the number of offenders who reoffended within 12 months of commencing this type of requirement.
	The following table shows the number of adult offenders in England and Wales starting a court order with an unpaid work requirement, by probation trust, in each year from 2008 to 2010; and the proportion that committed a proven reoffence within a one year follow-up period (ie the one year proven reoffending rate).
	A proven reoffence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Please note that proven reoffending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
	
		
			 Table 1: Proven reoffending rates for adult offenders starting a Court Order(1) with an unpaid work requirement in each year from 2008 to 2010, by probation trust, England and Wales 
			 Probation trust 2008 2009 2010 
			 Avon and Somerset    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.8 26.9 27.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,575 1,735 1,851 
			     
			 Bedfordshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 24.0 24.7 24.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 830 910 892 
			     
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 31.3 30.6 30.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,154 1,258 1,311 
			     
			 Cheshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.2 24.9 26.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,495 1,488 1,469 
			     
			 Cumbria    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 34.9 31.6 30.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,046 873 819 
		
	
	
		
			 Derbyshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 24.9 24.0 23.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,528 1,625 1,483 
			     
			 Devon and Cornwall    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.8 27.7 25.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,490 1,510 1,397 
			     
			 Dorset    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 26.4 28.6 27.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 702 686 647 
			     
			 Durham Tees Valley    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 37.7 37.8 39.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,114 1,656 1,675 
			     
			 Essex    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 26.3 25.2 26.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,083 2,436 2,368 
			     
			 Gloucestershire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 32.8 30.6 25.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 551 513 474 
			     
			 Greater Manchester    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.6 27.8 27.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 5,315 5,424 5,532 
			     
			 Hampshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.0 26.4 27.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,583 2,231 2,285 
			     
			 Hertfordshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.5 28.8 24.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,159 1,078 1,142 
			     
			 Humberside    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 30.7 30.2 28.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,549 1,552 1,552 
			     
			 Kent    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.0 28.5 29.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,305 2,584 2,431 
			     
			 Lancashire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 30.5 32.7 30.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,004 2,059 2,129 
			     
			 Leicestershire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 23.5 23.8 25.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,381 1,262 1,369 
			     
			 Lincolnshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 31.1 27.0 27.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 671 775 777 
			     
			 London    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 28.2 27.9 26.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 10,370 11,406 11,262 
			     
			 Merseyside    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.7 30.8 29.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,319 2,501 2,369 
			     
			 Norfolk and Suffolk    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 32.7 32.0 31.2 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,021 2,063 2,016 
			     
			 York and North Yorkshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 35.1 31.6 33.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,035 1,230 1,115 
			     
			 Northamptonshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.6 26.8 22.7 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 767 940 1,007 
			     
			 Northumbria    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 40.3 37.0 37.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,020 2,011 1,947 
			     
			 Nottinghamshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 30.5 29.4 31.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,713 1,911 2,021 
			     
			 South Yorkshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.5 27.7 29.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,374 2,640 2,632 
			     
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.1 23.9 23.2 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 5,351 6,036 5,907 
			     
			 Surrey and Sussex    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.0 26.5 26.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,823 2,907 2,815 
			     
			 Thames Valley    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 26.8 26.4 24.6 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 2,369 2,280 2,479 
			     
			 Wales    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 31.0 31.0 29.1 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 4,906 5,239 5,355 
			     
			 Warwickshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.5 24.3 22.5 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 573 716 631 
			     
			 West Mercia    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.8 28.1 30.3 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 1,273 1,558 1,315 
			     
			 West Yorkshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 34.1 30.0 29.9 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 3,719 4,209 4,458 
			     
		
	
	
		
			 Wiltshire    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 29.3 28.1 27.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 680 651 589 
			     
			 Unknown/More than one    
			 1 year reoffending rate (percentage) 27.5 30.3 26.9 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 873 970 836 
			 (1) This does not represent all offenders—offenders who commenced a court order are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders who cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort. (2) Court Orders include Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders which were introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and came into force in April 2005.

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 198W, on conditions of employment, how many people were employed on zero-hour contracts in each year between 2008 and 2011.

Jeremy Wright: The number of people employed on zero-hour contracts by the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice HQ, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) in each year between 2008 and 2011 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of people employed on zero-hour contracts by the Ministry of Justice as at 31 December 
			  Headcount 
			 2008 209 
			 2009 188 
			 2010 189 
			 2011 172

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 198W, on conditions of employment, what grades of employment the 140 members of staff are on.

Jeremy Wright: The grade for those employed on zero-hour contracts by the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice HQ, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) as at 31 December 2012 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Grade Total 
			 Band E (Administrative Officer) 1 
			 Band F (Administrative Assistant) 139

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for fraud cases were in the last 12 months.

Helen Grant: I have interpreted your question as covering the last 12 complete calendar months. The following table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted between 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2012 in relation to fraud cases, within England and Wales.
	
		
			 Fraud offence Order amount (£) Order date 
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty 29,276,566 30 August 2012 
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty 9,427,123 13 July 2012 
			 VAT Fraud 8,405,342 26 June 2012 
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty 4,812,245 16 January 2012 
			 Tax and Benefit Fraud 2,462,176 24 February 2012 
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty 1,984,794 4 November 2011 
			 Tax and Benefit Fraud 1,665,567 26 March 2012 
			 Tax and Benefit Fraud 1,584,733 26 March 2012 
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty 1,549,448 30 August 2012 
			 Counterfeiting/Intellectual Property/Forgery 1,379,770 9 March 2012 
			 Total amount 62,547,764

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been recovered under each of the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for fraud cases since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted since May 2010 in relation to fraud cases, within England and Wales and how much has been recovered.
	Large value confiscation orders often contain hidden and overseas assets, which makes them extremely difficult to enforce. I have provided a breakdown of the hidden and overseas assets in the table against each order. Of the 10 highest valued confiscation orders relating to fraud cases 79% of the value imposed relates to hidden or overseas assets.
	The Government take confiscating criminals’ assets very seriously and during 2011-12 we recovered 8% more from all confiscation orders than in the previous financial year. This year performance has significantly increased again, and for the period April 2012 to the end of October 2012, we have collected 13% more than the same period last year. This means that, though there is still work to do, we are on course to have our most successful year ever.
	During the last two complete financial years, 77% of all confiscation orders imposed were successfully completed.
	Appendix A
	The following table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted since May 2010 in relation to fraud cases, within England and Wales and how much has been recovered.
	
		
			 Fraud Offence Order Amount/Lead Enforcement Agency Amount Recovered Order Date Hidden/Overseas Assets contained in order Key Facts 
			 VAT Fraud £40,000,000 CPS POCU (Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Unit) £0 8 October 2010 Hidden £40,000,000 Offender has been deported. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £29,276,566 Serious Fraud Office £0 30 August 2012 Hidden £595,000 Overseas £26,000,000 The confiscation order is currently under appeal therefore active enforcement cannot proceed. Not yet in default of payment, as has until 28 February 2013 to pay. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £20,000,000 Serious Fraud Office £13,826 5 August 2010 Hidden £19,400,000 Offender is currently serving a default Sentence for non payment. An Enforcement Receiver has been appointed 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £16,145,098 CPS POCU £0 19 July 2010 Hidden £3,000,000 Overseas £13,000,000 The CPS has an application pending to appoint an Enforcement Receiver, as of 2 November 2012. Default sentence is being served. Co-offender of the order below. 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £16,145,098 CPS POCU £0 19 July 2010 Hidden £451,000 Overseas £15,700,000 The CPS has an application pending to appoint an Enforcement Receiver, as of 2 November 2012. Default sentence is being served. Co-offender of the order above. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £9,427,123 CPS POCU £563 13 July 2012  Not yet in default of payment, as has until 13 January 2013 to pay, therefore an Enforcement Receiver cannot be appointed at this time. 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £8,405,342 CPS POCU £1,427,191 26 June 2012  The CPS has an application pending to appoint an Enforcement Receiver. Not yet in default of payment, as has until 27 December 2012 to pay. 
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £6,565,942 CPS POCU £6,510,696 28 March 2011  This is a company confiscation order with £55,246 of the order balance left to pay, due to a shortfall in the funds held. An Enforcement Receiver has not been required. 
		
	
	
		
			       
			 Other Fraud/Embezzlement/Deception/Crimes of Dishonesty £4,812,245 CPS Branch £3,880,732 16 January 2012 £4,000,000 is held in pension funds The Offender has liquidated his pension funds. Default sentence has not been served as the offender is cooperating in paying his order. An Enforcement Receiver has not been required. 
			       
			 VAT Fraud £3,570,000 CPS POCU £0 8 July 2011 Hidden £3,500,000 The confiscation order is currently under appeal therefore active enforcement cannot proceed. The default sentence has not been applied.

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much has been recovered under each of the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for drugs cases since May 2010;
	(2)  what the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts for drugs cases were since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The following table records the 10 largest value confiscation orders granted since May 2010 in relation to drugs cases, within England and Wales and how much has been recovered.
	Large value confiscation orders often contain hidden and overseas assets, which makes them extremely difficult to enforce. I have provided a breakdown of the hidden and overseas assets in the table against each order. Of the 10 highest valued confiscation orders relating to drugs cases 54% of the value imposed relates to hidden or overseas assets.
	The Government take confiscating criminals’ assets very seriously and during 2011-12 we recovered 8% more from all confiscation orders than in the previous financial year. This year performance has significantly increased again, and for the period April 2012 to the end of October 2012, we have collected 13% more than the same period last year. This means that, though there is still work to do, we are on course to have our most successful year ever.
	During the last two complete financial years, 77% of all confiscation orders imposed were successfully completed.
	
		
			 Drug offence Order amount Amount recovered Order date Hidden/overseas assets contained in order Has a receiver been appointed Any other key information 
			 Drug Trafficking £10,508,650 CPS POCU (Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Unit) £1,432,032 9 September 2010 Hidden £16,000 Overseas £1,460,000 Many of the assets relate to buildings and land — The default sentence has not been applied. An Enforcement Receiver is still enforcing the order and a number of payments have been received during 2012 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,652,925 HMCTS £66,032 17 February 2012 Hidden £2,600,000 — Default sentence not yet activated. Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,402,728 CPS Branch £251,437 20 April 2011 Hidden £1,000,000 Overseas £583,200 (buildings and land) — Earliest release from prison is October 2022. Default sentence not yet activated. An Enforcement Receiver has been appointed 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,395,430 CPS Branch £573,544 18 January 2012 Overseas £1,203,000 (buildings and land) — The offender time is currently not in default as he has until 18 January 2013 to pay his order. Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as the time to pay hasn’t expired 
		
	
	
		
			 Drug Trafficking £2,353,655 HMCTS £815 22 November 2010 Hidden £2,353,655 — Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden. The offender is currently serving a default sentence for non payment 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £2,275,454 HMCTS £1,130,067 16 April 2012 No Hidden or Overseas Assets — Offender is not currently in default as time to pay expires on 16 April 2013 
			        
			 Money Laundering—Drugs £2,075,117 HMCTS £51,764 28 June 2011 Hidden £2,016,000 — Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden. The offender is currently serving a default sentence for non payment 
			        
			 Drug Trafficking £1,490,721 CPS Branch £0 17 May 2011 Hidden £1,486,131 — The offender is currently serving a default sentence for non payment. Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden 
			        
			 Money Laundering—Drugs £1,476,976 CPS Branch £0 30 March 2011 Hidden £182,000 Overseas £1,658,976 — An Enforcement Receiver has been considered, but an application is not being made at this stage 
			        
			 Money Laundering—Drugs £1,362,218 HMCTS £9,338 28 February 2011 Hidden £1,335,381 — Unable to appoint an Enforcement Receiver as all assets are hidden. The offender is serving a prison sentence until 2017. A default sentence for non payment has not been activated yet

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the defendants ordered to pay the 10 largest confiscation orders imposed by the courts were recipients of legal aid in the last two years.

Helen Grant: I have interpreted your question as covering the last two complete financial years, the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2012. The information is not readily available; data must be merged from multiple datasets. I will write to the hon. Member once my officials have carried out this work.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff were employed on consultancy contracts in his Department on the latest date for which figures are available; how many such staff were employed on the same date 12 months ago; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: It is not possible to provide these figures. Consultancy agreements are frequently entered into to achieve certain outcomes; they do not necessarily describe the number of full-time equivalents required to deliver those outcomes.

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Helen Grant: The core responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice are set out in the Appropriation Act for each year which authorises the use of resources for each Department. The core functions listed include the administration of the National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and civil and criminal legal aid, together with functions in relation to justice policy, victims and the criminal justice system.
	The costs of delivering the obligations are published in the Main Estimates and the Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts.

Domestic Visits

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which individuals and organisations (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have visited since May 2010; and on what date each such visit took place.

Jeremy Wright: The following table provides details of visits to external organisations by Ministry of Justice Ministers since May 2010 as part of their departmental responsibilities.
	
		
			 Minister Date Organisation 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 27 May 2010 Barking Community Legal Advice Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 3 June 2010 Wandsworth Citizens’ Advice Bureau 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 19 October 2010 National Pro Bono Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 31 January 2011 June Venters QC, Pro Bono Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 2 February 2011 Community Links Centre 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 9 February 2011 Kent Family Mediation Service, Swale Borough Council 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 10 May 2011 Irwin Mitchell 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 26 January 2012 Criminal Cases Review Commission 
			 Jonathan Djanogly 30 January 2012 ILEX 
			 Helen Grant 18 October 2012 Victims Safehouse 
			 Helen Grant 26 November 2012 Suzy Lamplugh Trust National Centre 
			 Nick Herbert 29 September 2010 Reducing Reoffending visit to Hull 
			 Lord McNally 18 October 2010 Law Commission 
			 Lord McNally 22 October 2010 The National Archives 
			 Lord McNally 12 November 2010 Runnymede Council— Magna Carta launch event 
			 Lord McNally 19 November 2010 Gray’s Inn 
			 Lord McNally 17 February 2011 National Archives (Kew) 
			 Lord McNally 8 March 2011 Information Commissioner’s Office and UKBA 
			 Lord McNally 18 March 2011 Turning Point Douglas House Project 
			 Crispin Blunt 1 April 2011 Amber Project, Dorking 
			 Lord McNally 12 April 2011 Serious Organised Crime Agency 
			 Ken Clarke 6 May 2011 Nottingham Women’s Centre 
			 Lord McNally 25 May 2011 UCL Constitution Unit 
			 Crispin Blunt 4 July 2011 Koestler Trust 
			 Lord McNally 27 July 2011 Press Complaints Commission 
			 Crispin Blunt 30 July 2011 Slough College 
			 Crispin Blunt 2 August 2011 G4S —electronic monitoring centre in Manchester 
			 Lord McNally 31 August 2011 Kainos Community (in HMP Swaleside) 
			 Nick Herbert 24 September 2011 Various 
			 Nick Herbert 28 September 2011 North Kent live links demonstration 
			 Lord McNally 6 October 2011 Index and English Pen 
			 Crispin Blunt 11 November 2011 The One Service (payment by results pilot, Peterborough) 
			 Nick Herbert 30 November 2011 Victim Support 
			 Nick Herbert 7 December 2011 CJR Neighbourhood Resolution Panel—Sheffield 
			 Nick Herbert 14 December 2011 CJR Visit—Hampshire 
			 Lord McNally 23 December 2011 Turning Point 
			 Ken Clarke 9 January 2012 Lilian Baylis Old School, Lambeth 
			 Ken Clarke 23 January 2012 Milton Keynes Mediation Centre 
			 Crispin Blunt 14 February 2012 Victim Support—new branch in Leicester 
			 Lord McNally 13 March 2012 Minerva Project 
			 Lord McNally 29 March 2012 Equality and Diversity Forum 
			 Nick Herbert 17 April 2012 Sussex Magistrates Association AGM 
			 Lord McNally 26 April 2012 48 Group Club 
			 Lord McNally 4 May 2012 Carillion 
			 Lord McNally 15 June 2012 The National Trust 
			 Nick Herbert 18 June 2012 Visit to community payback scheme in Kettering and Round Table with Northants Probation Trust, Kettering Borough Council and Northants Partnership Executives 
			 Nick Herbert 21 June 2012 Visit to buddi offender management solution in Kettering and polygraphing sex offenders pilot with Hertfordshire constabulary 
			 Nick Herbert 25 June 2012 CJS Reform visit to Merseyside and London 
			 Lord McNally 17 July 2012 Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service 
			 Crispin Blunt 19 July 2012 Fine Cell Work HQ in London 
			 Crispin Blunt 30 July 2012 Rape Crisis Centre in Croydon 
			 Lord McNally 29 September 2012 Birmingham Law Society/Resolution 
			 Lord McNally 12 October 2012 Legal Aid Practitioners Group 
			 Lord McNally 8 November 2012 National Grid Young Offenders Programme 
			 Chris Grayling 12 November 2012 Westminster Academy 
		
	
	
		
			 Jeremy Wright 13 November 2012 G4S—electronic monitoring centre in Manchester 
			 Lord McNally 14 November 2012 Cooperative Group—Family Law Service 
			 Damian Green 30 November 2012 Integrate Offender Management visit—Leeds 
			 Damian Green 3 January 2013 Virtual Courts Visit—Sutton Coldfield police station 
		
	
	In addition to these visits, Ministers regularly attend receptions, make speeches and visit prisons, courts and other sites within the justice system; these are not included in the table. Also excluded are meetings and overseas travel; these are captured in the quarterly gifts, meetings and hospitality returns, which are available on the Justice website (or the Home Office website for the right hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) and the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, the right hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green).

Human Trafficking

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in January 2013; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme.

Helen Grant: In January 2013 there were 66 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the local authority. Details are provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Nationality Gender Region Referring Agency 
			 Afghan Female West Midlands UKBA 
			 Albanian Female North West UKBA 
			 Albanian Female South East Legal Representative 
			 Albanian Female Not Known Legal Representative 
			 Albanian Female Yorkshire UKBA 
			 Albanian Female Yorkshire UKBA 
			 Algerian Female South Self Referral 
			 North American Female South Self Referral 
			 Bangladeshi Male South East Legal Representative 
			 British Male North West Self Referral 
			 Bulgarian Male South Other 
			 Bulgarian Female North West Police 
			 Congolese Female South Local Authority 
			 Czech Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Czech Female South West Police 
			 Hungarian Female South East Police 
			 Indian Female West Midlands UKBA 
			 Indian Female South West Other 
			 Indian Female East Midlands NGO 
			 Lithuanian Female South Other 
			 Lithuanian Female South East Police 
			 Lithuanian Male South East Police 
			 Malian Female Yorkshire NGO 
			 Nigerian Female South Self Referral 
			 Nigerian Female South Legal Representative 
			 Nigerian Female South East NGO 
			 Nigerian Female West Midlands Local Authority 
			 Nigerian Female Yorkshire UKBA 
			 Nigerian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Nigerian Female West Midlands UKBA 
			 Pakistani Female Yorkshire Police 
			 Pakistani Male Yorkshire Police 
			 Pakistani Female North West UKBA 
			 Pakistani Female North West UKBA 
			 Pakistani Female North West UKBA 
			 Polish Male North West GLA 
			 Polish Female North West GLA 
			 Polish Male North West GLA 
			 Polish Male West Midlands Police 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Female Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Polish Male Yorkshire NGO 
			 Romanian Female South Police 
			 Romanian Female South Police 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Romanian Female North West Self Referral 
			 Romanian Male East Midlands Police 
			 Romanian Male West Midlands Other 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands NGO 
			 Romanian Male South Police 
			 Romanian Female South Other 
			 Russian Female South East NGO 
			 Slovakian Male East Police 
			 Slovakian Female South Police 
			 Sri Lankan Female Wales Other 
			 Thai Female Yorkshire UKBA 
			 Ugandan Female North West Legal Representative 
			 Vietnamese Male South East UKBA 
			 Vietnamese Female South East NGO 
			 Vietnamese Male South East UKBA 
			 Vietnamese Male West Midlands UKBA 
			 Vietnamese Female West Midlands UKBA

Legal Aid Scheme

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much and what proportion of legal aid was awarded in each year between 1997 and 2011 to individuals serving a custodial sentence at the time the award was made; and how many such individuals received such awards.

Jeremy Wright: The Government are clear that legal aid must be available to those who need it, but resources are not limitless. That is why we were concerned to see an increase of £25 million in legal aid spend on prison law, between 2001-02 and 2010-11.
	Restrictions placed on prisoners' access to legal advice are having an impact. In July 2010 we reduced the availability of legal aid for prison law treatment cases, which has already reduced spend. However I am still concerned about public confidence in the legal aid system, and an urgent review into this has been ordered.
	The details of legal aid spending on prison law each year from 2001-02 to 2011-12 and as a proportion of total legal aid spending in England and Wales, are provided in the table.
	Details of the amounts of legal aid spent on prison law are not available for years prior to 2001-02 as spending cannot be disaggregated from other areas of legal aid.
	
		
			  Legal aid spend on prison law in England and Wales(1) (£) Proportion of total legal aid spending in England and Wales (%) Total legal aid spending in England and Wales(1) (£) 
			 2001-02 1 0.06 l,717 
			 2002-03 3 0.18 1,909 
			 2003-04 5 0.24 2,077 
			 2004-05 7 0.33 2,038 
			 2005-06 9 0.43 2,028 
			 2006-07 12 0.63 1,984 
			 2007-08 16 0.80 2,036 
			 2008-09 21 1.01 2,108 
			 2009-10 25 1.16 2,149 
			 2010-11 26 1.21 2,134 
			 2011-12 23 1.12 2,039 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest £ million.

Pay

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employees in his Department were paid (a) between £80,000 and £100,000 per year and (b) in excess of £100,000 per year in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: The number of officials in the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice HQ, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service and Office of the Public Guardian) that earned a full-time equivalent salary of (a) between £80,000 and £100,000 and (b) in excess of £100,000 for each of the last five years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Year (as at 30 September) £80,000 to £100,000 More than £100,000 
			 2008 125 31 
			 2009 172 39 
			 2010 263 49 
			 2011 252 38 
			 2012 241 38 
		
	
	The increase in employees earning £80,000 to £100,000 from 2009 to 2010 is largely attributable to a contractual 1% increase in the maximum pay threshold of one of the management grades. This resulted in an increase in the threshold from £79,661 to £80,458 thereby increasing the number of people who earned a full-time equivalent salary of £80,000 to £100,000.

Pay Systems

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish details of all payment by results scheme pilots since 2009 indicating (a) the aims and objectives of the pilot, (b) when the pilot started, (c) when it completed or is due to complete, (d) when interim evaluation data were published or are due to be published, (e) when final independent evaluation data were published or are due to be published, (f) how much funding was allocated for each pilot and (g) how much funding was spent on each pilot.

Helen Grant: 14 payment by results pilot schemes became operational since 2009.
	The pilots test different models and help to inform the use of payment by results in the Criminal Justice system. The Peterborough and Doncaster pilots and the Employment and Reoffending pilots are targeting reduced reoffending within the target cohort of offenders. The local justice reinvestment pilots target reduced demand on local justice services in the pilot areas. The Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinders target a reduction in the number of bednights spent by young offenders in custody.
	The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper “Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders” setting out how we propose to extend payment by results for rehabilitation in the community. We will examine each of the operating pilots further as we develop our approach, both drawing lessons and considering whether they should continue to operate in coordination with new services or whether they should be replaced by new services.
	The Ministry of Justice has identified the maximum potential financial exposure by reference to the contractual terms of each pilot. The level of actual spending on each pilot is ultimately dependent on the provider’s success in reducing reoffending. We will therefore identify the spending requirement for each pilot once the final results have been assessed.
	Details of the pilots, including start and completion dates and the timing of evaluations, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Payment by results pilot schemes which became operational since 2009 
			  Date pilot became operational Date pilot operations are due to end Interim Evaluation published(Process Evaluation) Final Independent evaluation data published 
			 HMP Peterborough September 2010 By September 2016(4) May 2011 Summer 2014(5) 
			    Spring 2015 Final process evaluation 2018 
			      
			 HMP Doncaster October 2011 October 2015 November 2012 Summer 2014(6) 
			    Autumn 2014 Final process evaluation spring 2016 
			      
		
	
	
		
			 Local Justice Reinvestment Pilots(1) July 2011 June 2013 Spring 2013 Year 1—November 2012 
			     Year 2—November 2013 
			     Final process evaluation summer 2014 
			      
			 Employment and Reoffending Pilots(2) September 2012 September 2016 Autumn 2013 Summer 2015(7) 
			    Autumn 2015 Final process evaluation 2018 
			      
			 Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinders(3) October 2011 September 2013 Spring 2013 Autumn 2014 
			 (1) There are six Justice Reinvestment pilots—in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark. (2) The two Employment and Reoffending pilots are in Wales and west midlands and the Marches. (3) The four Youth Justice Reinvestment Pathfinders in Year 1 of the pilot were in Birmingham, north and east London, West Yorkshire and West London. (4) The Peterborough pilot will last for up to six years, with three cohorts of short sentence prisoners, one after another, each containing around 1,000 offenders. Each cohort will remain open until it reaches capacity, or for a maximum period of 24 months. (5) Results from cohort one. Subsequent cohort results approximately every two years thereafter, maximum three cohorts. (6) Results from cohort one. Subsequent cohort results to be published approximately annually thereafter, maximum three cohorts. (7) Results from cohort one. Subsequent cohort results to be published approximately annually thereafter, maximum three cohorts. 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice is continuing to assess the robustness of early indicative reoffending data from the pilots and whether they are suitable for publication as Official Statistics. Any publication of such data will be pre-announced on the Ministry of Justice website following standard Official Statistics release protocols.
	In addition, the Ministry of Justice has been supporting work, led by the Department of Health to co-design and implement eight drug and alcohol Payment by Results pilots to assess whether paying on the basis of results can further incentivise the delivery of a range of recovery outcomes rather than simply engaging people in treatment. The Ministry of Justice provides no funding to these pilots, which are not part of the department’s own pilot programme.

Prisoners: Self-harm

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners were considered to be at risk of self-harm in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(2)  how many prisoners in HM Prison Lincoln were considered to be at risk of self-harm in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jeremy Wright: Prisoners who are considered as being at-risk of self-harm may be placed on an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) Plan. ACCT is a prisoner focused care planning system for those prisoners identified as being at-risk of self-harm and/or suicide. ACCT has helped prisons to manage prisoners’ risk of self-harm and suicide since 2007. Establishments record and monitor the number of prisoners supported through an ACCT plan locally. There is currently no ability to centrally report this information.
	The vast majority of self-harm is not directly life threatening but nevertheless can be extremely distressing both for those affected by it and those who have to deal with it. There are no easy solutions to self-harm but we remain committed to managing and finding ways to reduce it.
	The latest available figures show that 6,623 individual prisoners self-harmed in 2010 and 6,854 in 2011. The figures for 2012 are not due to be published until April 2013.
	The latest available figures for HMP Lincoln show that 78 individual prisoners self-harmed in 2010 and 95 in 2011. Figures for 2012 will not be available until April 2013.

Prisons: Expenditure

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent from the public purse on prisons in each year since 1987.

Jeremy Wright: The expenditure recorded each year since 1987-88 on prisons in England and Wales is as follows:
	
		
			  Total expenditure (£ million) 
			 2011-12 2,213 
			 2010-11 2,219 
			 2009-10 2,288 
			 2008-09 2,283 
			 2007-08 2,317 
			 2006-07 2,175 
			 2005-06 2,073 
			 2004-05 2,407 
			 2003-04 2,281 
			 2002-03 2,405 
			 2001-02 2,245 
			 2000-01 2,135 
			 1999-2000 2,129 
			 1998-99 2,089 
			 1997-98 1,904 
			 1996-97 1,774 
			 1995-96 1,747 
			 1994-95 1,601 
			 1993-94 1,288 
			 1992-93 1,660 
			 1991-92 1,631 
			 1990-91 1,464 
			 1989-90 1,206 
			 1988-89 1,014 
			 1987-88 882 
			 Notes: 1. Figures include both public sector and private prisons. 2. Figures from 1993-94 do not include capital expenditure. 
		
	
	The figures from 2008-09 are as recorded with the Addendums to the published accounts of the National Offender Management Service, and previously in the published accounts of the HM Prison Service and Home Office.
	Over the last 25 years changes to the scope of the Prison Service and the accounting treatment in recording expenditure mean the ability to make useful comparisons between years is reduced.

Prisons: Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much capital expenditure there was on each prison in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Wright: Details of capital expenditure for all prisons for each year since 2007 are given in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Type of capital expenditure 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Major capital expenditure 495 473 540 328 166 
			 Local capital expenditure 10 13 14 10 18 
			 Notes: 1. Local capital expenditure is that met directly by the establishment and excludes expenditure met at regional or national level. 2. Local capital acquisitions include purchases of items such as plant, machinery, mechanical and electrical equipment etc. 3. Figures include immigration removal centres and major investment on new builds during this period. 4. Figures may not be directly comparable over time due to changes in scope and accounting treatment. 5. The capitalisation threshold increased from £5,000 to £10,000 from 1 April 2010. 6. All figures are rounded. 
		
	
	The higher figures reflect investment in the prison capacity programme which has now come to an end.
	The Department holds detailed information on capital expenditure, but because it is not collated by establishments as a matter of course, it will take departmental staff some time to draw it together. As soon as this has been done I will write to the right hon. Gentleman and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Prisons: Food

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether any changes have been made to his Department's contract with 3663 to supply Halal meat for prison food in the last three years;
	(2)  what contingency planning his Department has undertaken to avoid any disturbances in prisons following the identification of contaminated Halal meat in prison food;
	(3)  how long 3663 has been providing food to the prison estate;
	(4)  whether his Department is able to impose financial penalties on suppliers of contaminated Halal meat in prisons;
	(5)  whether any prison food containing contaminated Halal meat had been distributed further than the prison estate.

Jeremy Wright: The standard for the provision of Halal products has not changed or been amended during the past three years. During this time, 3663 has been the sole provider of Halal products. It has been contracted to supply food to public sector prisons since June 2007.
	The National Offender Management Service has acted quickly and decisively throughout this issue, withdrawing contaminated and potentially contaminated supply lines, ceasing all deliveries from the affected supplier, providing alternative menu choices and working with the Agency's Muslim advisor to communicate to all Muslim chaplains to disseminate information to prisoners. Due to this positive approach, there have to date been no reported disturbances in prisons linked to this issue. In addition, there have been various engagements with Muslim media to clarify the contamination issue and reassure the community.
	All prisons have regularly tested contingency plans to deal with instances of concerted indiscipline and Governors can call on national resources as required.
	The Ministry of Justice is currently considering what financial redress it can seek. The MOJ is unaware of any product contamination outside of the Halal products supplied to prisons.

Probation

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in the event of outsourcing of probation tasks, whether police and other criminal justice agencies will be given access to tagging and other related data kept by private companies who win probation contracts.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals to reform the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community, including opening up rehabilitation services to a more diverse range of providers who will be paid by results to reduce reoffending.
	Under our proposed reforms, providers of probation services will need to work in partnership with the police and other agencies to ensure local services are closely aligned. Prospective providers will have to evidence how they would sustain and develop local networks and partnerships such as existing Integrated Offender Management arrangements, and will be expected to contribute to local intelligence sharing as appropriate.
	Under current arrangements electronic monitoring data are managed by the private companies running the contracts and necessary data exchanges occur between agreed agencies, subject to data sharing protocols. This approach will not change as a result of the proposed reforms.
	We will announce further details of our proposals once we have considered the responses to the consultation, which closes on 22 February 2013.

Probation

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what incentives he will put in place for probation trusts to merge prior to the tendering-out of probation work.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is consulting on proposals to reform the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community, including competitions for the majority of rehabilitative and punitive services in the community.
	We propose that the public sector will be reorganised in the most efficient manner to deliver its new responsibilities. This is likely to require fewer trusts or a different structure (such as a single national probation trust or direct delivery on behalf of the Secretary of State). Our consultation paper invites views on what kind of delivery structure would be most appropriate for the public sector probation service.
	While we will need to contract with entities capable of bearing the financial and operational risks associated with offender services in the community and the introduction of payment by results, it will also be open to those currently in the public sector to design prospective mutuals or develop appropriate partnerships with other organisations to bid to win contracts for competed services. The Cabinet Office (working with Ministry of Justice) will support leaders and staff in probation trusts to explore options and feasibility in advance of any competitions. The Cabinet Office is designing a package of support for those who wish to explore this option, including access to the Cabinet Office's £10 million Mutuals Support Programme.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will announce further details of our proposals once we have considered responses.

Probation

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether, in the event of implementation of his proposals for outsourcing of probation tasks, the public-sector probation service will be organised on a local, regional or national level.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’, which set out our plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community.
	In that consultation paper, we propose that the public sector will be reorganised in the most efficient manner to deliver its responsibilities. This will require fewer trusts or a different structure (such as a single national probation trust or direct delivery on behalf of the Secretary of State). Our consultation paper invites views on what kind of delivery structure would be most appropriate for the public sector probation service.
	The consultation closes on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of our proposals once we have considered responses.

Property Law

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether he has examined ways to reduce costs within boundary disputes involving real property; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the Government's policy is on the resolution of disputes involving the boundaries of real property under different ownerships;
	(3)  whether he has considered potential reforms to ending boundary disputes; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what progress he has made on developing a strategy for cost effectively disposing of boundary disputes concerning real property; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what plans he has to publish a timetable on developing legislative proposals to reform how boundary disputes concerning real property are resolved; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice will be carrying out an initial scoping study this year into the problems affecting boundary dispute resolution with a view to identifying possible solutions. Ministers will then consider the options.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many regulations his Department has repealed in the last six months; and what has been the anticipated cost savings of each such repeal.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice has laid no statutory instruments that repealed regulation which have regulatory impact in the last six months.

Roads: Accidents

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the operation of the criminal justice system to protect road users; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Parliament is responsible for ensuring that adequate offences and maximum penalties are available to the courts and we do keep this under review, for example, recently introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which will carry a five year maximum prison sentence.
	It is for the courts to decide on the appropriate sentence for an offender and in doing so they will take into account all details of the offence, including any aggravating or mitigating circumstances and sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines are produced by the independent Sentencing Council.

Sentencing

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average reduction in sentence is for a defendant who enters a guilty plea.

Jeremy Wright: MOJ sentencing statistics do not record the average reduction in sentence for defendants who enter a guilty plea or the relationship between the timing of the plea and the magnitude of the resulting reduction.

Sexual Offences: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of convictions for (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire, (vi) Norfolk and (vii) England resulted in custodial sentences in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: Defendants found guilty and sentenced at all courts and the proportion for rape and other sexual offences, by police force area in England from 2009 to 2011 can be viewed in the tables.
	
		
			 Defendants found guilty and sentenced at all courts for rape(1) and other sexual offences(2), by police force area, England, 2009 to 2011(3, 4, 5) 
			  2009 2010 
			  Found guilty Immediate custody Sentenced Percentage custody Found guilty Immediate custody Sentenced Percentage custody 
			 Suffolk         
			 Rape 7 6 7 86 10 9 10 90 
			 Other sexual offences 57 27 56 48 62 27 63 43 
			          
			 Bedfordshire         
			 Rape 8 8 8 100 13 11 13 85 
			 Other sexual offences 29 12 31 39 29 17 30 57 
			          
			 Cambridgeshire         
			 Rape 17 16 17 94 16 12 16 75 
			 Other sexual offences 78 33 81 41 72 40 72 56 
			          
			 Essex         
			 Rape 19 19 19 100 26 24 26 92 
			 Other sexual offences 66 32 67 48 82 46 83 55 
			          
			 Hertfordshire         
			 Rape 10 8 10 80 10 10 10 100 
			 Other sexual offences 54 18 52 35 64 29 64 45 
			          
			 Norfolk         
			 Rape 16 15 16 94 7 6 7 86 
			 Other sexual offences 66 36 66 55 75 39 75 52 
			          
			 England         
			 Rape 869 819 871 94 922 860 922 93 
			 Other sexual offences 3,550 1,785 3,537 50 4,084 1,972 4,068 48 
		
	
	
		
			  2011 
			  Found guilty Immediate custody Sentenced Percentage custody 
			 Suffolk     
			 Rape 14 14 14 100 
			 Other sexual offences 49 25 49 51 
			      
			 Bedfordshire     
			 Rape 5 5 5 100 
			 Other sexual offences 39 17 39 44 
			      
			 Cambridgeshire     
			 Rape 13 13 13 100 
			 Other sexual offences 70 35 68 51 
			      
			 Essex     
			 Rape 27 26 27 96 
			 Other sexual offences 92 42 90 47 
			      
			 Hertfordshire     
			 Rape 10 10 10 100 
			 Other sexual offences 65 24 65 37 
			      
			 Norfolk     
			 Rape 16 16 16 100 
			 Other sexual offences 74 39 73 53 
			      
		
	
	
		
			 England     
			 Rape 1,019 970 1,019 95 
			 Other sexual offences 4,195 2,033 4,181 49 
			 (1 )Rape includes: Sexual Offences Act 2003, s1 and s5 (2 )Other sexual offences includes: Sexual Offences Act 2003, s6, s3, s7, s8, s9, s10, s11, s12, ss9, ss10, ss12, s4, ss11, s25, s26, s64, s65, s26, s52, s53, s33a, s30, s31, s32, s33, s34, s35, s36, s37, s38, s39, s40, s41, s14, s47, s48, s49, s50, s57, s58, s59, s16, s17, s15, s19, s18, s69, s61, s62, s63, s66, s67. Sexual Offences Act 1956, s70, s12, s16 Indecency with Children Act 1960, s1 (3 )The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (4 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5 )The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Trafford Housing Trust

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has held on the effect of the recent legal case between Mr Adrian Smith and Trafford Housing Trust on his Department's policies on freedom of speech for staff.

Chris Grayling: I apologise for the delay in responding. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the House returns.

Young Offender Institutions

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which institutions of the secure youth estate (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have visited since May 2010; and on what date each such visit took place.

Jeremy Wright: The following table provides details of visits to institutions of the secure youth estate by Ministry of Justice Ministers since May 2010.
	
		
			 Minister Date Institution 
			 Crispin Blunt 10 June 2010 Feltham Young Offenders Institute 
			 Crispin Blunt 25 June 2010 Medway Secure Training Centre 
			 Crispin Blunt 3 August 2010 Vinney Green Secure Children’s Home 
			 Crispin Blunt 3 August 2010 Ashfield Young Offenders Institute 
			 Lord McNally 30 September 2010 Medway Secure Training Centre 
			 Crispin Blunt 4 November 2010 Parc Young Offenders Institute 
			 Nick Herbert 18 November 2010 Feltham Young Offenders Institute 
			 Crispin Blunt 27 January 2011 Portland Young Offenders Institute 
			 Crispin Blunt 11 May 2011 New Hall Young Offenders Institute 
			 Crispin Blunt 4 August 2011 Lancaster Young Offenders Institute 
			 Ken Clarke 14 October 2011 Clayfields House Secure Children’s Home 
			 Crispin Blunt 1 December 2011 Eastwood Park Young Offenders Institute 
			 Jeremy Wright 5 November 2012 Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institute 
			 Jeremy Wright 5 November 2012 Medway Secure Training Centre 
			 Chris Grayling 20 November 2012 Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institute 
			 Chris Grayling 20 November 2012 Medway Secure Training Centre

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Violence against Women

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to support the One Billion Rising campaign to end violence against women and girls; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	We are supportive of the aims of the One Billion Rising campaign which calls for an end to violence, and for justice and gender equality. These underpin the Government's approach set out in the Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls and supporting action plan.

Violence against Women

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the cumulative effects of Government policies on efforts to tackle violence against women.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to a reply on behalf of the Home Department.
	Our cross-Government strategy recognises the need to take a joined-up approach to ending violence against women and girls. We monitor progress through regular inter-ministerial meetings including inviting representations from the women's specialist sector. We are currently refreshing our Action Plan and aim to link this to our recognition of International Women's Day.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the evidence on the effects on air quality as a result of the emissions from the combustion of biomass following the World Health Organisation's (a) advice to the EU to lower its limit values on particulate fractions, PM2.5 and PM10 and (b) advice to member states published on 31 January 2013 to prioritise reducing emissions from solid and liquid fuels, including biomass.

Richard Benyon: The review by the World Health Organisation on the evidence relating to the effects of particulate matter fractions on health is welcomed and we look forward to reviewing the findings of the study when the final report is published. However, as the review relates to the effects of air pollutants on health, we do not expect it to comment on the effect of biomass combustion on air quality.
	DEFRA publishes annual assessments of the effect of current emission sources on concentrations of air pollutants. These can be viewed on the Department's UK-AIR webpages at:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index
	We also work closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change to assess the air quality impacts of policy proposals that affect combustion of biomass.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to publish the draft Bill to ban wild animals in circus performances.

David Heath: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) on 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 255W.

Circuses: Licensing

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will publish details of (a) all licensing inspections carried out in travelling circuses, (b) the licences granted and the licence conditions, (c) all licensed travelling circuses using wild animals, (d) all licensed animals within such circuses and (e) the tour schedules of each such circus; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which travelling circuses wishing to use wild animals have been inspected under the new licensing regulations to date; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many licensing applications he has received from travelling circuses wishing to use wild animals in their act to date; how many animals of which species were listed in each such application; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The licensing conditions which apply to all licences are set out in the schedule of the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012.
	To date, two applications for a licence have been received by DEFRA. One inspection has taken place and a date for the other inspection has been booked. No licences have been issued so far.
	Information about the number and species of animals submitted with applications received to date is summarised in the following table.
	
		
			  Circus Mondao Jolly's Circus 
			 Ankole — 1 
			 Camel 2 1 
			 Fox — 1 
			 Raccoon — 1 
			 Reindeer 2 4 
			 Snakes — 6 
			 Zebra 2 1 
		
	
	Tour dates are regularly posted on travelling circuses' websites.

Common Fisheries Policy

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the decision taken by the European Parliament on 5 February 2013 to approve the proposals for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, what assessment he has made of the timetable for negotiations between the European Parliament, EU Council of Ministers and the EU Commission to complete the reform package; what the contribution of the UK to that process will be; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The European Parliament took a crucial step towards reform of the failed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), with a vote on a wide range of important reforms. I am pleased that the European Parliament voted in favour of measures to eliminate discards and fish sustainably.
	That vote was not the end of the process and there is still more work to be done over the coming months, as the reforms will be co-decided by the Council of Fisheries Ministers and the European Parliament. The Irish presidency has stated its objective to secure political agreement on the dossier by the end of June 2013. While ambitious, I support this goal, and will continue to work with my fellow Fisheries Ministers and Members of the European Parliament to ensure that the new CFP will help deliver a prosperous fishing industry and healthy fish stocks.

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Richard Benyon: The overall annual public expenditure resulting from obligations under the Department's regulations (including costs to regulators and other public agencies) was estimated at around £0.2 billion (2011 prices) in the report “The Costs and Benefits of DEFRA's Regulatory Stock: Emerging Findings from DEFRA's Regulatory Stock Assessment” in August 2011.
	This report is available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13623-costs-benefits-defra-regulatory-stock110816.pdf

Fisheries: Protection

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of any contract his Department holds with the Ministry of Defence to provide fishing protection; and when any such contract is up for renewal.

Richard Benyon: The Department does not hold any contract for fisheries protection. This falls within the responsibility of the Marine Management Organisation.
	The annual value of the Marine Management Organisation's agreement with the Ministry of Defence is £7 million per annum. This agreement expires on 31 March 2013.
	A revised agreement covering 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2016 is nearing completion.

Fisheries: Quotas

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he will take steps to reallocate the unused fishing quota from producer organisations to fishermen using vessels of under 10 metres.

Richard Benyon: To maximise the benefit from the UK's annual quota allocation in 2012, DEFRA allocated quota for eight stocks, which had been consistently unused by English Producer Organisations between 2007 and 2010, to the under 10 metre pool. This reallocation exercise will be repeated this year. The UK Association of Fish Producer Organisations (UKAFPO) has been granted permission to seek judicial review of the reallocation with the hearing due to take place this May.

Ivory

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will raise the use of smartwater technology to improve the (a) traceability of ivory and (b) conviction rates of those trading in illegal ivory at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Richard Benyon: The UK has no specific plans to raise the forensic marking of ivory during discussions at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species next month. Elephant conservation and tackling illegal ivory trade are a priority for the UK at that meeting. We will look to support measures that improve enforcement and combat illegal trade more effectively.

Livestock: Transport

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of animals which have died during transport in the last year.

David Heath: There are no comprehensive figures available on the number of deaths of animals in transport. However, in relation to the trade in live animals currently being exported through Ramsgate port, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency records show that during 2012 (up to the end of October) its inspectors identified 45 animals that were not fit to continue with their journey and required them to be euthanized. This represents 0.1% of the total number of animals (36,850) exported through the port over the same period.

Livestock: Transport

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to prevent animals exported from the UK being slaughtered in ways that are illegal in the UK.

David Heath: We have no plans to take steps to prevent animals exported from the UK being slaughtered in ways that are illegal in the UK. EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing came into effect on 1 January 2013. This regulation is directly applicable in every member state and sets minimum welfare standards that apply to the slaughter of all animals. This regulation also applies to animals slaughtered outside the EU where the meat is imported into the EU from the third country involved.
	Regulation 1099/2009 does allow individual member states to apply national rules to maintain welfare standards that were in place when the regulation was agreed in 2009 and which provide more extensive welfare protection than the regulation. In addition, member states can introduce national rules in relation to slaughter that takes place outside a slaughterhouse, slaughter in accordance with religious rites and the slaughter of farmed game. However, a member state cannot require the application of these national rules in relation to meat arising from animals slaughtered in another member state.

Pesticides

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the European Food Safety Authority's advice on neonicotinoids; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: Since concerns were first raised on this important issue, DEFRA has been clear that we will act in accordance with the evidence. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports published on 16 January consider the risks to bees from these insecticides and conclude that more data are needed to update the current risk assessments. As the EFSA made clear in the reports, these assessments used existing data against new regulatory requirements which have yet to be finalised.As would normally be expected, the EFSA found that new data requirements were not met by data produced earlier. The reports do not state that these insecticides pose an unacceptable danger to bees, although this impression is given by the accompanying EFSA Press Release. It is also worth emphasising that the EFSA conclusions are not new scientific information but report a stage in the process of updating the developing new risk assessment and applying it to these three active substances.
	The Government have taken research on effects to bees seriously and we have not assumed that the existing controls are sufficient. The European Commission has now indicated that it will propose measures on the three neonicotinoids reviewed by the EFSA and it has held an initial discussion with member states. Our approach to any Commission proposal will continue to be founded in a proportionate response to the science and so we will seek clarity as to what the Commission is proposing, the basis for this and the likely impacts. Our response will take account of advice from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, which considered the latest evidence on the risks to bees from neonicotinoid insecticides at its meeting on 29 January. It also received the EFSA conclusions.

Slaughterhouses: CCTV

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to make an announcement on the outcome of the consultation into the mandatory introduction of CCTV in slaughterhouses; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The Government's consultation on measures to implement EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing closed on 24 October 2012. This consultation also sought comments on the proposal not to require compulsory installation of CCTV in slaughterhouses. The Government are currently considering the responses received. Once this process has been completed, a response will be published on the DEFRA website.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what grade or pay band such staff were appointed.

Richard Benyon: Following are the number of core DEFRA staff in post on 31 March in each of the last five years, broken down by their grade when they joined the Department. All figures are in full-time equivalents.
	
		
			 31 March 2008 
			 Grade On entry As at 31 March 2008 
			 SCS 74.95 148.73 
			 Grade 6 54.64 141.59 
			 Grade 7 233.99 484.31 
			 SEO 186.00 351.14 
			 HEO 450.09 737.53 
			 EO 584.08 480.61 
			 AO 517.16 455.35 
			 AA 631.22 68.80 
			 Unknown 135.93 0.00 
			 Total 2,868.06 2,868.06 
		
	
	
		
			 31 March 2009 
			 Grade On entry As at 31 March 2009 
			 SCS 59.19 132.43 
			 Grade 6 42.65 124.08 
			 Grade 7 243.89 470.39 
			 SEO 150.22 301.65 
			 HEO 396.93 638.73 
			 EO 521.95 416.19 
			 AO 477.82 406.44 
			 AA 587.93 55.17 
			 Unknown 64.50 0.00 
			 Total 2,545.08 2,545.08 
		
	
	
		
			 31 March 2010 
			 Grade On entry As at 31 March 2010 
			 SCS 61.70 141.50 
			 Grade 6 44.75 115.94 
			 Grade 7 274.35 491.68 
			 SEO 168.93 296.27 
			 HEO 465.42 642.81 
			 EO 469.70 421.04 
			 AO 497.50 366.93 
			 AA 524.37 38.55 
			 Unknown 8.00 0.00 
			 Total 2,514.72 2,514.72 
		
	
	
		
			 31 March 2011 
			 Grade On entry As at 31 March 2011 
			 SCS 57.46 127.98 
			 Grade 6 45.85 119.83 
			 Grade 7 261.72 485.03 
			 SEO 175.13 325.19 
			 HEO 461.92 623.77 
			 EO 455.51 414,40 
			 AO 464.87 327.89 
			 AA 522.82 28.19 
			 Unknown 7.00 0.00 
			 Total 2,452.28 2,452.28 
		
	
	
		
			 31 March 2012 
			 Grade On entry As at 31 March 2012 
			 SCS 41.80 98.98 
			 Grade 6 40.43 84.03 
			 Grade 7 182.05 381.62 
			 SEO 166.62 310.16 
			 HEO 425.90 558.90 
			 EO 389.37 340.95 
			 AO 399.02 285.82 
			 AA 438.39 24.12 
			 Unknown 1.00 0.00 
			 Total 2,084.58 2,084.58